Portugal’s parliament is expected to approve this Thursday (February 12) a draft law that would tighten access to social media for minors, raising the minimum age for independent use from 13 to 16.
The proposal – put forward by the Social Democratic Party (PSD), which leads the ruling AD coalition – will be debated under the party’s allocated agenda time. The Socialist Party (PS) has said it is willing to back the bill at its first reading, paving the way for the measure to move forward.
Under current law, minors can consent to data processing on social networks from the age of 13. PSD wants to change that.
Its proposal sets 16 as “the minimum digital age for independent access to social media platforms, video sharing services and open communication services.” Teenagers aged 13 to 16 would only be allowed to use these platforms with “express and verified parental consent,” while children under 13 would not be able to create accounts.
“PSD intends to regulate the presence of children on social networks. There is no paternalistic or prohibitionist objective here, but only to provide the means and tools for children and their parents to master social networks and not be dominated by them,” said Paulo Marcelo, vice-president of the PSD parliamentary bench and one of the bill’s signatories.
According to the draft, platforms used by minors between 13 and 16 must include safeguards to limit exposure to violence, premature sexual content, addictive games and manipulated videos or images.
“There are already very solid international studies that show that social networks and video, gaming and online gambling platforms have a negative effect on children when used prematurely and excessively. It is not a question of banning, but of regulating social networks so that their use is more prudent and freer on the part of children,” he stressed.
To enforce the new rules, PSD proposes linking age verification to the government’s Digital Mobile Key (Chave Móvel Digital) system or another mechanism that confirms the minor’s age without revealing additional personal data.
Paulo Marcelo described Thursday’s debate as “the beginning of a process,” promising consultations with parents, teachers, psychologists and other parties to refine the bill. The aim, he said, is to have the law ready “in a few weeks or months” and enforceable by the platforms.
The party has also set up a public email address — criancas.digitais@psd.parlamento.pt — for citizens to submit suggestions.
Supervision would fall to the National Communications Authority (ANACOM) and the National Data Protection Commission (CNPD), working alongside the Agency for Technological Reform of the State (ARTE). Regulators could issue guidelines and impose fines of up to €2 million or 2% of global annual turnover, with strict civil liability for damage caused to children.
If approved, the restrictions would apply to platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. Messaging services like WhatsApp, widely used by parents to communicate with their children, would not be covered.
