Cases of violence in schools are increasingly being recognized as a systemic problem in more and more countries. These incidents are evaluated not only as a result of a lack of discipline within schools but also as a consequence of weakened family control and children being exposed to an uncontrolled digital environment.
Precisely for this reason, in the European Union, Great Britain, Australia, Spain, and other countries, laws concerning school violence and children's digital safety are either already in force or strict restrictions are actively being discussed.
In the European Union, the approach to school violence is primarily built on a systematic control model supported by legislation. Although a specific age ban on social media has not yet been adopted at the EU level, mandatory legal mechanisms for the protection of children are already in force.
The most important example of this is the law called the Digital Services Act (DSA). This law imposes an obligation on all large platforms operating in the EU to prevent the dissemination of content that could be harmful to children, to conduct risk assessments, and to ensure that algorithms do not promote aggressive and violent content. This is no longer a recommendation but a mandatory legal requirement.
At the same time, the European Parliament and the European Commission have openly brought up the issue of setting the minimum age for social media use at 16 and have adopted resolutions recommending this. Although these documents do not yet create a direct ban, they clearly indicate the direction in which the EU's future policy will be shaped.
In Great Britain, the most important document in the field of child protection is the Online Safety Act, and this law is already in force. The law obliges social media, gaming, and video platforms to prevent harmful content for children, implement age-appropriate filtering, and reduce risks. Platforms that fail to comply with this control mechanism may face severe penalties.
Although a specific age ban on social media has not yet been enshrined in law, this issue is actively being discussed at the level of the British government and parliament. The mental health of adolescents and its connection to school violence are particularly at the center of these debates.
Furthermore, in the vast majority of schools in Britain, smartphone use during lessons is practically prohibited. Although this is not a national law, it is widely applied through the recommendations of the Ministry of Education and the internal rules of schools, and is considered a practical measure yielding real results.
Australia is a country that has already moved past the discussion stage in this area. Here, children under the age of 16 are legally restricted from opening accounts on major social media platforms, and this norm has come into force. The law compels technology companies to genuinely verify children's ages and to pay millions of dollars in fines if they fail to comply with the rules.
The Australian government explicitly justifies this decision as follows: children's psychological health, behavioral patterns, and risk of violence are severely damaged under the influence of social media algorithms. Therefore, the state considers strict intervention in this area to be necessary.
At the same time, national anti-violence standards exist for schools in Australia. Cases of violence are not concealed as internal school matters; they are officially registered, and a joint resolution mechanism is applied with parents.
Spain is currently among the countries discussing a transition to a new, stricter phase regarding school violence and children's digital safety. The government plans to implement a 16-year age limit for social media use, make age verification mechanisms mandatory, and increase the responsibility of technology companies.
Although these initiatives have not yet been adopted as law, they have already been announced at the level of official state policy and are under parliamentary discussion. The Spanish government openly states that the uncontrolled digital environment plays a significant role in the increase of aggressive behavior among children, and it is not possible to remain neutral in this area.
The experience of the European Union, Great Britain, Australia, and Spain shows that the fight against school violence has moved beyond merely reacting to individual incidents and has entered a phase of systematic and state-level policy. These countries are either already implementing legal mechanisms or are openly discussing strict restrictions to prevent future risks.
It is interesting, then, if any age restriction ban were to be applied to social networks in Azerbaijan, how effective could this be from a practical point of view?
AzEdu.az was addressed on this topic by IT specialist Fərhad Mirəliyev.
The issue is not enacting a law, but how to integrate that law into homes:
''The issue of banning social media networks is not one with a straightforward solution. So to speak, the approval and adoption of legislation in this area is one matter, while its practical functionality in real life is an entirely different matter.
Frankly, I do not believe that even if certain steps are taken at the legislative level, significant positive progress will be achieved regarding its implementation. Because in practice, we see that parents buy and give mobile phones to their children for various reasons. If the child is a school student, a phone is mainly purchased for communication and to stay in touch while attending preparatory classes. For younger children's entertainment, parents either provide a tablet or give them their own mobile phones".
The solution lies not in bans, but in educating parents and having preventive conversations with their children.
''Most of these devices are smartphones, and access to undesirable content is instantaneous. Even unintentionally, a minor or an underage person can encounter unpleasant content. Therefore, I believe that social networks themselves should further improve parental control functionality, and at the same time, parents should be informed about the risks awaiting their children and engage in preventive conversations with them.
As for the purely legislative aspect, for example, how can a ban on social media use for children under 16 be implemented in real-world conditions? If I give my phone to my child, that phone will effectively access social networks through my account. For this reason, I am not very optimistic about legislation. However, strengthening educational efforts and developing parental control functions on social networks would be a more appropriate approach."
The main problem is not giving a child a computer, but how to ensure control after giving that computer:
''I also want to mention an issue related to computers. As we know, lessons are currently conducted using computers in schools, and there is also a need for computers to complete homework. Especially for subjects like STEAM, algorithmics, and similar disciplines, computer use is essential.
Now let's consider: which parent can take a concrete measure to prevent their child from accessing social networks when providing them with a computer? Generally, firstly, does the parent even think about this? Secondly, even if they do, what can they realistically do? That is, what steps can they take when giving the home computer to the child to prevent them from accessing social networks?
Registration is required on certain social networks. But for platforms like TikTok, for example, simply typing tiktok.com in a browser is enough – it's possible to see and watch content even without logging in with an account. The solution to such problems is, again, closely linked to the issues I mentioned a little earlier."
