Lithuania backs greater platform responsibility for children’s online safety

Lithuania believes social media platforms should bear greater responsibility for children’s online safety, Justice Minister Rita Tamašunienė said after a meeting between government representatives and President Gitanas Nausėda, LRT reported. Officials have not reached agreement on adding responsibility for parents or applying criminal liability to minors at an earlier age.

Tamašunienė said platforms should be held more accountable for creating engaging designs and content. She said Lithuania was inclined to support common international age limits for minors using social media.

The minister cited the European Commission’s proposed Kids Act, which she said would set restrictions for children under 13, introduce further content limits for those under 15, and apply restrictions to users under 18.

The meeting also considered whether parents should face additional criminal or administrative penalties. Tamašunienė said bans and fines alone would not be enough, and argued that additional penalties could conflict with the state’s goal of improving the demographic situation if parents viewed raising children as carrying extra costs.

She said education for parents, particularly young parents, was important, including information about the effects of digital devices on children’s mental and emotional health. Giving phones to very young children, she said, could harm their social development. She also called for discussion of apps that help parents manage children’s internet use and online content that could support their education.

Schools’ mobile phone rules will be assessed by March to determine whether a national policy is needed. President’s chief adviser Vaidas Augustinavičius said the possibility of a national approach remained open, but officials first needed a full picture of how schools’ existing rules worked in practice. He said the issue might be revisited in spring.

Parliament adopted amendments in April requiring schools to establish their own rules on phone use, based on recommendations from the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport. According to a ministry survey, 91 percent of schools have a strict ban on mobile phone use, while the others require teacher permission. Exceptions allow phones to be used for educational purposes. In 81 percent of schools, the ban also applies during trips and events.