Portugal and Spain Ethics Councils Tackle Youths on Social Media

Authorities in Portugal and Spain are preparing a joint advisory aimed at tackling the growing concern over the effects of heavy social media use on children and adolescents. The effort – led by CNECV (Portugal’s National Ethics Council for Life Sciences) together with the Spanish Bioethics Committee – seeks to propose concrete measures for families, schools, institutions and tech companies.

According to the draft opinion, which is expected to be finalised in January 2026, the core of the proposals is about limiting digital harm while promoting safe online environments. The two bodies argue that concerns about minors’ exposure to violent or pornographic content – sometimes trivialised in social media – make “prohibition” a legitimate option among various approaches.

The draft sets out recommendations beginning with parental responsibility. The report highlights worrying trends: many Portuguese children as young as nine enter the online world – in some cases spending almost two hours a day on their smartphones. Usage then escalates with age: by mid adolescence, average daily online time can approach four hours.

To address this, the guidance suggests families strictly supervising screen use – setting clear schedules, banning devices from bedrooms at night, and enforcing screen-free periods before bedtime. However, beyond the home, the proposals call for broader societal and institutional measures: establishing local digital-literacy centres (in libraries and health centres), as well as urging technology platforms to embed safety-by-design principles, with appropriate safeguards for minors.

The timing of this joint report coincides with similar recent developments at the EU level. The European Parliament recently passed a non-legislative resolution proposing that 16 should be the minimum age for accessing social media without parental consent – underlining the growing political will behind stricter youth online-safety regulations. Naturally, it would be reasonable to assume that Spain and Portual may take similar steps, or perhaps even use the EU approach as a framework for their own going forward.