List: 20 countries pushing to restrict children’s social media access

More than 20 countries have taken steps to restrict children’s social media access, according to an Vanguard tally, as the EU prepares new proposals targeting addictive platform features for minors.

Countries involved include:

• Australia
• Brazil
• China
• Indonesia
• Malaysia
• Turkey
• United Arab Emirates
• United States (California)
• Greece
• Austria
• Slovenia
• Germany
• Sweden
• Denmark
• Ireland
• Norway
• Britain
• Canada
• New Zealand
• Portugal
• Spain
• Italy
• France

Australia enforced the first blanket ban for under-16s in December 2025. France’s similar law was struck down on free-speech grounds, with Macron pledging a revised version by 2027.