Sweden is exploring the possibility of introducing age restrictions for social media, following the Australian model.
According to reports, the move is being considered in response to rising youth crime in the country. The Swedish Minister of Justice, Gunnar Strömmer, noted that such measures aim to prevent gangs from recruiting children and young people for murders or bomb attacks.
“The situation is very serious. We are not ruling anything out,” he emphasized.
The Justice Minister mentioned that several companies, including Meta (Facebook’s parent company), Alphabet (Google’s parent company), and Snap (operator of Snapchat), have declared their intention to do “everything in their power” to address the problem.
If the results are unsatisfactory, the government will intervene with legislation. It is noted that Sweden is studying restrictions in other countries to determine the most suitable model.
Reports indicate that Swedish police have observed gangs increasingly using platforms like Instagram and TikTok to recruit teenagers for attacks in Northern Europe in recent years. Some of the recruits are as young as 11 years old.
From January to July, the number of suspects under 15 involved in murders in Sweden reached 93, three times more than during the same period last year.
The report highlighted that Sweden now has the highest per capita rate of fatal homicides in Europe. Over recent months, Danish police have documented 32 cases of Swedes being hired to carry out violent crimes in Denmark.
Australia’s legislation, supported by all major parties, imposes fines of up to AUD 49.5 million (€30.5 million or USD 32 million) on social media platforms that allow children under 16 to create accounts.
