Several other countries have introduced regulations for children's use of social media, including France and Australia. The Social Democrats are now taking a stand and want to see a strict 15-year age limit in Sweden.
It should be checked with a strict ID requirement for each account, says Magdalena Andersson.
Young girls and boys are flooded with body hatred, distorted ideals and extremely violent content on social media, she continues, which fosters feelings of loneliness and meaninglessness.
This is unacceptable. But we must be honest: this is exactly what the tech giants' business model is. The algorithms are designed to be addictive.
"Wild West"
The strict ID requirement will apply to all over 15 years and will be checked through bank-id or the EU's digital wallet, which is being developed. Andersson says that you should still be able to be anonymous on the internet, but that tech companies will know people's identities.
Compared to the Wild West that exists today, this is a better regulation.
When asked why a 14-year-old who gets great joy from social media should be affected, Anders Ygeman, educational policy spokesperson for The Social Democrats, replies that the negative consequences outweigh the benefits.
In Sweden, there is currently a limit of 13 years for when children must have parental consent to create accounts on social media. The government has appointed an inquiry that will propose whether that limit should be raised.
Want to see net police
The inquiry will also examine whether a strict age limit can be introduced. It will be completed in June next year.
We have not taken a stance on any exact age, but the age that is being discussed internationally is 15 or 16 years. We envision that it is an age verification that it is about, says Social Minister Jakob Forssmed (KD).
The Social Democrats also want to improve the digital conversation climate with special net police who can better investigate, for example, grooming and hate crimes.
A third area that The Social Democrats want to see changes in is the individual's right to their own voice and image to be able to stop so-called deep fakes and false images of individual private individuals.
