The government has drafted a bill that would ban children under 16 from registering on social media. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Sputnik Kazakhstan.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is also paying special attention to this issue. He proposed that deputies consider the relevant legislation at the first session of the Kurultai. Currently, a number of countries are introducing age restrictions on children's use of social media. Sputnik Kazakhstan reviewed global experience in this area.
The first country to introduce the restriction
Currently, many countries around the world are considering introducing restrictions on children's use of social media. Among them, Australia became the first country to ban those under 16 from opening accounts on social media. According to the law adopted at the end of 2025, responsibility was placed not on parents but on digital platforms. They are required to verify the age of the person opening an account. The restriction applies to all major social media and some streaming services. The government can update this list.
After the restriction was introduced, Australia used methods to verify the age of new users through a bank account, a copy of an ID, or a video selfie. In the government's report, facial recognition technology was listed as one of the effective methods. Platforms violating the law initially faced a fine of 49.5 million Australian dollars. Later, authorities proposed increasing this amount.
What is Brazil's experience
In March of this year, a special law aimed at protecting children in the digital environment came into force in Brazil. It does not completely ban social media but imposes a number of restrictions on children's accounts. According to the law, the social media account of a child under 16 must be linked to the account of their parent or legal representative. And during registration, platforms are required to verify the user's age through documents and biometric data.
In addition, when dangerous content for children is detected, information about it must be reported to the relevant authorities. Platforms violating these requirements may face fines of up to 50 million reais. In some cases, a complete shutdown of the platform is also envisaged.
Millions of accounts blocked
After Brazil, Indonesia also began blocking the social media accounts of children under 16. The first list of the Ministry of Digital Technology and Communications included platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Threads, X, Bigo Live, and Roblox. In Indonesia, children under 13 can only use age-appropriate applications. Up to 15 years old, access to services considered low-risk is allowed, but parental permission is required. From 16 years old, these restrictions do not apply.
Some platforms use an artificial intelligence system to determine the user's age. The system automatically determines the person's age. To protect biometric data, they are deleted after verification is completed. The government is also considering the possibility of linking social media accounts to each person's personal identification card.
What Europe is doing
The European Union does not yet have a unified age restriction for social media. In Spain, a bill on protecting minors in the digital environment is being considered. It proposes introducing restrictions on social media up to 16 years old. Norwegian authorities are also drafting a bill to introduce a similar requirement. In Greece, from 2027, it is planned to ban children under 15 from opening accounts on social media.
In France, a law on this issue was adopted in July of this year. From September, it was planned to ban registration on social media for children under 15. However, in August, France's Constitutional Council ruled that the main provision of the law concerning social media was contrary to the constitution. The Council noted that this restriction could excessively affect freedom of speech and freedom of information dissemination. In addition, legal guarantees for the protection of personal data during age verification of a child were assessed as insufficient. French President Emmanuel Macron ordered the bill to be reworked.
What decision the UK has reached
The UK is considering raising the minimum age threshold for using social media to 16. New requirements may be introduced from spring 2027. In addition, additional restrictions are proposed for users under 18. These include limiting certain functions such as live streaming on social media.
What will happen in Kazakhstan
The bill drafted by the Government of Kazakhstan is being discussed within the framework of the Kurultai. Deputies have discussed the document several times. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev also ordered the introduction of special SIM cards for children.
"I instruct the widespread dissemination of the practice of introducing mandatory SIM cards for children. This will make it possible to ensure their information immunity," Tokayev said at this year's August conference.
Experts also advise paying attention to the issue of algorithms in social media. This is because the majority of content shown to users is selected through these algorithms.