Prime ministers from the Nordic countries issued a joint statement in Helsinki urging greater protections for children and young people from the effects of new technology, calling for measures such as age limits, social media regulation, phone-free periods in schools and guidance on artificial intelligence. The development was first reported by Vísir.
Representing Iceland, Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir attended the meeting held in connection with the annual session of the Nordic Council in Helsinki, Finland. According to the Government of Iceland, the statement calls for new measures including social media regulation, age limits, screen-time guidelines, and phone-free periods in schools. Other proposed steps include initiatives to improve online safety.
Iceland has already moved towards some of these goals. The government recently approved draft legislation on age restrictions for social media use by children and a regulation to implement phone-free periods at schools. Details on enforcement or next steps have not yet been announced.
The meeting also involved Nordic youth and students from the International School in Helsinki, who participated in roundtable discussions alongside national leaders. Additionally, the prime ministers discussed revising the Helsinki Convention to address equal participation for the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland in future Nordic cooperation.
Vísir notes that this meeting followed an earlier gathering of the same leaders at Marienborg in Denmark last August. Reflecting on the continuity between the discussions, Prime Minister Frostadóttir explained, “We were following up on a conversation we had.” She added that the group intended to “stand in the paws against the tech giants,” with both remarks reported by Vísir and the Government of Iceland.
Sources
Links: Marienborg-yfirlýsingin · Stjórnarráðinu
- Stjórnarráð Íslands (Government of Iceland) in Icelandic
- Vísir (first reported) in Icelandic
