The Plenary of Congress will debate next Tuesday a Non-Law Proposition (PNL) from the Socialist Parliamentary Group, which urges the Government to promote the regulation of social networks to prevent mental health problems in youth and, specifically, it proposes promoting a recommendation so that minors under 14 years of age do not use smartphones or the internet or social networks until they are 16.
«Promote a recommendation not to use smartphones up to 14 years and postpone access to the internet and social networks up to 16,” the socialists propose in the text of the NLP, consulted by Europa Press.
Furthermore, the PSOE proposes developing “regulations that guarantee that social network services are ethical” and avoid «handling techniques«, and promote the creation of new »accessible tools in digital detox applications, to be able to manage the content and time spent in the application«.
Likewise, socialists suggest the implementation of training programs for families on the risks of social networks as well as the “banning” of “harmful” design features such as endless scrolling of content or “infinite scroll”constant real-time notifications or automatic playback of videos or games.
Likewise, the socialists consider that it is essential “to detect and combat the vulnerabilities that platforms take advantage of to capture the attention of users, especially younger people, to monetize their data,” and they propose promoting from public administrations “good practices”, such as deactivating all notifications or automatic screen locking.
Law on the protection of minors in digital environments
The Socialist Group applauds the actions of the Government reflected in the preliminary draft of law on the protection of minors in digital environments. According to the text, minors under 16 years of age will not be able to access or register on social networks and minors under 18 will not be able to access digital spaces that use random reward mechanisms. On the other hand, all applications They must necessarily include parental control tools to protect minors.
The socialists point out that, although digital platforms have had a beneficial impact on society, through new ways of communicating and streamlining tasks, “several studies warn of the risk” What social networks cause “in self-esteem and well-being”, especially in youth, since they can be used as a tool with which to exert harassment or violence.
As indicated by the PSOE, citing data from the Social Media and Youth Mental Health 2023 report, spend more than three hours a day on social networks It doubles the risk of suffering from mental problems and, according to what they warn, the new “centennial” generation uses, in more than 85% of cases, more than five hours a day.
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