Nordic leaders pledge tougher social-media rules for children

Sweden and its Nordic neighbours have pledged to pursue tougher regulation of social media for children, including age limits, restrictions on addictive design and schools without private smart devices.

Nordic leaders signed the joint declaration in Helsinki on 27 October. It sets out shared political aims without specifying a common minimum age or a timetable for new legislation.

The Marienborg Manifest commits the governments to continue work on national and European social-media age limits and to explore stricter rules for technology companies.

The leaders argue that commercial incentives have taken priority over children’s welfare. They identify addictive features, manipulation and harmful content as concerns, and raise questions about children replacing human relationships with AI chatbots.

Alongside regulation, they promise to strengthen digital literacy among children, parents, caregivers and professionals. The next test is how each government turns the shared commitments into national measures and European proposals.

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