Several legal initiatives on digital protection of children, including a social media age limit, are on their way in Denmark
Social media age limit
A key element of the agreement is a proposed minimum age requirement of 15 years (or 13 years with parental consent) for accessing certain social media platforms. While it remains unclear which social media platforms will be subject to the age limit, the agreement outlines the following criteria:
- The legislation should target the largest social media platforms that allow the creation of public user profiles, and which are associated with documented risks for children and young people, such as addictive design and illegal or harmful content.
- The legislation should exempt platforms whose sole or primary purpose is to enable end-users to participate in professional networking or professional development.
Although the direct legal obligation falls on children and parents, the agreement clearly provides that neither parents nor children can be punished for violating the social media age limit. Instead, the age limit is intended to activate social media platforms' obligations to ensure age verification mechanisms under Article 28 of the Digital Services Act (DSA), see the EU Commission's Guidelines of 14 July 2025 on the protection of minors pursuant to DSA Article 28(4).
Other initiatives
In addition to the social media age limit, the political agreement includes several other initiatives such as:
- Child-friendly digital devices: It will be examined whether Denmark should implement requirements for manufacturers to ensure that digital products (e.g. smartphones) marketed or sold to children in Denmark include pre-installed or easily accessible settings to prevent exposure to harmful content and limit screen time.
- Prohibition on disseminating harmful content: The agreement proposes prohibiting intermediary service providers from disseminating harmful content that exposes minors to a significant risk of harm to their health or wellbeing. Additionally, it proposes establishing a scheme enabling authorities to order the removal or blocking of such harmful content.
- Out-of-court dispute resolution: A new dispute resolution body to resolve disputes between online platforms and users regarding decisions made by online platforms, including cases where platforms decline to remove content that the user considers harmful or illegal.
- NGO monitoring: NGOs will receive state funding to monitor and report harmful content and to monitor the online platforms' and search engines' actions, e.g. if content is removed or if age verification mechanisms are in place, thereby supporting enforcement of the DSA.
Plesner comments
The agreement reflects a strong political momentum towards protecting children online, but several initiatives also raise important questions, particularly in relation to the boundaries of EU harmonisation and the proportionality of national regulation.
The DSA's total harmonisation principle leaves limited options for Member States to introduce national obligations on online platforms. Although the social media age limit is proposed as a restriction on children's use of social media platforms rather than a platform obligation, it is clear that the age limit is designed to impose obligations on social media platforms to implement age verification mechanisms in Denmark, see Article 28 of the DSA and the guidelines issued based on Article 28(4).
Similarly, requirements for device manufacturers to include child-protection features will restrict the free movement of goods, as products lawfully marketed elsewhere in the EU will be prevented from being sold in Denmark, unless they comply with the new rules.
For tech companies, the agreement signals the government’s determination to push national regulation that will either directly or indirectly impose obligations on the tech companies. Many of the initiatives will need to be implemented by law, and companies operating e.g. social media platforms or manufacturing digital devices should monitor these developments closely.
Want to know more?
For more information, please contact Emil Jurcenoks, Rasmus Lei Korsgaard or Kia Hansen.