Kazakhstan’s authorities are proposing restrictions on minors’ access to digital platforms, citing risks to their psychological well-being and online safety. The initiative has received the president’s support.
Kazakhstan’s president has backed a government initiative to ban children under 16 from creating social media accounts. According to CentralAsia.media, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has instructed the country’s new parliament to consider the issue as a priority.
Tokayev said protecting children in the digital environment is one of the country’s key government priorities. According to the president, social media, digital platforms, artificial intelligence and increasingly aggressive marketing now influence children’s worldview as much as their families and schools.
“We must create favorable conditions for a comfortable and, most importantly, safe environment for the younger generation,” the president said.
Tokayev also stressed that a ban alone would not be enough. Authorities need to develop an effective mechanism for implementing the restrictions so that the new rules do not remain merely on paper. The government has also been instructed to strengthen content filtering and expand the use of dedicated SIM cards for children.
The initiative is part of a broader policy aimed at protecting minors online. Earlier this year, Kazakhstan discussed restricting children’s access to social media, registering SIM cards for minors and giving parents greater control over access to illegal content.
Kazakhstan is joining a growing international trend: restrictions on social media use by children under 16 have already been introduced or are being considered in several countries, including Spain, Denmark, Norway, Malaysia and Australia.
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