LISBON, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Portugal's parliament on Thursday approved a bill restricting children's and young people's access to online platforms and social networks.
Under the bill presented by the Social Democratic Party, minors under the age of 16 will no longer have unrestricted access to social networks and online platforms in Portugal.
Applications such as Instagram, TikTok and Facebook will only be accessible with "express and verified parental consent."
The legislation also stipulates that access to social networks will require age verification through the Digital Mobile Key system, Portugal's national digital identity authentication platform.
Current legislation already prohibits access for children under 13, but enforcement has been limited and platforms have not systematically verified users' ages.
The new law will require social media platforms operating in Portugal to implement effective age-verification mechanisms and parental consent systems before granting access to users under 16.
The bill follows similar measures under consideration in several European countries amid growing concerns over the impact of social media on young people's mental health and online safety.
The Digital Mobile Key is Portugal's digital authentication system, enabling citizens to access public and private online services via mobile devices.
Parliament will now debate specific implementation details, including enforcement mechanisms, platform compliance requirements and procedures for verifying parental consent, in specialized committee discussions. ■
