Sweden considers Australia-style social media age limits to fight online gang recruitment

Sweden is not ruling out a social media age limit similar to recent measures passed in Australia as a way to fight gang recruitment on the platforms, according to a Reuters report. 

The first contact with Swedish children by criminals is often on social media by following them on TikTok, Instagram, or Snapchat, according to Swedish police. 

Then, the conversation moves on to encrypted apps like Signal or Telegram, where criminal acts can be planned "without much insight from others," a notice from the police reads.

In the last few years, Sweden has become a hotbed of gang-related crime in Europe, with an 11 per cent youth gang involvement rate, according to the 2024 International Self-Report Delinquency Study. 

Sweden is already working with the Danes to pressure tech companies to crack down on advertisements posted on their platforms to recruit young people to commit violent crimes. 

Growing momentum to limit social media

Sweden could follow Norway, which said last month it wants to raise the age of consent on social media applications to 15 from 13, where it is currently. 

If that suggestion goes ahead, Norwegian parents would still be permitted to sign off on an account for their children if they are below that limit, a Reuters report said at the time. 

The UK and France both have recent regulations in place either for social media companies to enforce age limits or to get parental consent before accounts are created. 

Australia is the first country to put forth an all-out ban on social media platforms for children under 16 in an effort to keep people safe online.