An action plan for the protection of minors using social media was approved on Wednesday by the cabinet, following an “urgent challenge” created by the fact that 98 per cent of young people in Cyprus use social media, which international organisations have blamed for addictive behaviours and choosing platforms over other activities.

Announcing the decision after the cabinet meeting, Deputy Research Minister Nicodemos Damianou said the action plan targets social media and platforms, where users create a profile, post content and publicly interact.

“The evidence clearly shows the size and urgent nature of the challenge,” he said.

He referred to figures indicating that 98 per cent of young people in Cyprus actively use social media. “This is the highest percentage in the EU,” Damianou pointed out.

Along with the use of social media, young people performed low in critical skills for evaluating information, he added.

He cited international organisations which have said an increased use of social media was linked to addictive behaviour, the neglect of other activities and other negative consequences on their daily life.

“International experience dhows that protecting underaged people online cannot rely exclusively on the self-regulation of platforms or the personal responsibility of young people or parents,” Damianou said.

He explained that the government’s action plan is based on three pillars.

Age verification

The first is setting the age to access social media at a national level. The cabinet suggested the age of 15 as the minimum age for access to social media.

The bill will be open for public debate in the coming days with the aim of being voted into law in December.

The new law will oblige the platforms to install reliable age verification mechanisms and incorporate the proposed European solution when it is finalised.

The second pillar concerns developing the digital age verification mechanism in line with the standard proposed by the EU, namely the age verification blueprint, which will be incorporated in 2027. Through this mechanism, users will be able to prove their age without sharing other personal data.

Increased awareness

The third pillar focuses on education and awareness among the society. Children, parents and teachers will be educated on the safe and creative use of the internet, and various events and campaigns will be launched in this direction.

Damianou said the action plan provided for further research and the creation of mechanisms to deal with incidents.

He invited everyone to cooperate in the effort for a safer digital environment for children.