Portugal’s Parliament on Thursday approved in principle a Social Democratic Party (PSD) bill aimed at regulating access to social media for children under the age of 16.
The proposal passed with the support of the governing PSD party, the Socialist Party (PS), PAN, and JPP. Chega and the Liberal Initiative (IL) voted against the measure, while the CDS-PP, PCP, Livre and the Left Bloc abstained. Socialist MP Miguel Costa Matos also abstained, breaking ranks with his party. The bill will now move to committee stage, where it will be debated in detail and may be amended.
The draft law would end unrestricted access to social media and similar platforms for children under 16, requiring explicit and verified parental consent.
Under current legislation, minors may give digital consent from the age of 13. The PSD proposal raises what it describes as the “digital age of autonomous access” to 16 for social media platforms, video-sharing services, and open communication services.
Children aged between 13 and 16 would only be able to access such platforms with “express and verified parental consent”, while those under 13 would be prohibited from accessing the platforms, services, games and applications covered by the law.
The restrictions would apply to networks such as Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, though messaging services such as WhatsApp, widely used by parents to communicate with their children, would not fall under the same rules.
According to the Government, companies operating platforms accessible to minors aged 13 to 16 must ensure specific safeguards are in place to prevent exposure to violence, premature sexual content, addictive games, manipulated videos and altered images.
The bill also stipulates that children under 13 would not be able to create new accounts. For those aged between 13 and 16, account creation would require an age verification mechanism linked to Portugal’s Digital Mobile Key (Chave Móvel Digital) or another system capable of confirming the user’s age without disclosing further personal data.
Policing of the new regime would fall to the National Communications Authority (Anacom) and the National Data Protection Commission (CNPD), working in coordination with ARTE, the State Agency for Technological Reform, to ensure secure integration of the Digital Mobile Key into age verification systems.
Under the proposal, regulators would have the power to issue guidelines and impose fines of up to €2 million or 2 per cent of a company’s annual global turnover if they fail to comply with the Government’s expectations. The bill also outlines strict civil liability for damages caused to children by company’s failures to collaborate.
During Thursday afternoon’s plenary session, opposition parties raised concerns about enforcement, privacy protection and the collection of personal data. Some MPs also questioned whether young people could easily bypass restrictions by using virtual private networks (VPNs).
Chega opposed the measure outright, arguing that “the risks of society are rarely resolved with more state control”.
MP Madalena Cordeira described the proposal as “a project that seeks to take away freedoms” and criticised left-wing parties, claiming they had long shown “an appreciation for single-thought dictatorships”.
Party leader André Ventura accused the PSD and PS of attempting to “indoctrinate” and “control” both “minds and the future” of the country.
Although the CDS-PP positioned itself against the bill, it ultimately abstained, arguing that the issue warrants national debate. “Is it the State that gives smartphones to children, or is it the parents? And then do they abdicate responsibility?” asked centrist MP João Almeida.
Paulo Lopes Marcelo, deputy chair of the PSD parliamentary group, rejected claims that the system would amount to censorship or state surveillance.
“This does not imply any kind of censorship or control by the State, Anacom, the Government or any public authority in Portugal,” he said. “There is no collection of information, nor any surveillance, censorship or centralised control over networks or the digital space.”
Socialist MP Pedro Delgado Alves signalled openness to refining elements of the bill, including the age threshold. “I see no reason why it should not be approved and proceed to committee so that the law can be made clearer and better constructed,” he said.
Isabel Mendes Lopes of Livre welcomed the initiative, acknowledging what she described as the “predatory behaviour of social networks and platforms”, which she said contributes to serious problems of addiction and social isolation. However, she raised doubts about how age verification should be implemented.
Both Livre and PAN argued that other parliamentary initiatives on the issue should have been debated alongside the PSD proposal.
The Communist Party (PCP), through MP Paula Santos, called for broader measures focused on education and training for children and young people, rather than relying primarily on prohibition.
The Government has indicated that they intend to widen the debate to civil society. Representatives of parents’ associations, teachers and psychologists are expected to be consulted as the bill moves through committee.
Members of the public will also be able to submit contributions via the email address criancas.digitais@psd.parlamento.pt.
Source: LUSA
