A statement issued by the lower house on Sunday said the new law will address the digital insecurity and risks of uncontrolled content faced by children and prevent it from negatively impacting their future.
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Egypt's parliament is preparing to draft a law to protect young people from the dangers of social media, lawmakers said, following steps taken by Western countries to find ways to regulate children's use of social media to combat "digital chaos."
The lower house of parliament issued a statement on Sunday saying the new law would address the digital insecurity and risks of uncontrolled content faced by children and prevent them from negatively impacting their future.
The lawmakers said they would proceed with the drafting of the law in consultation with the government and expert bodies to “protect Egyptian children from any digital risks that endanger their thoughts and behavior.”
President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi on Saturday urged his government and parliament to enact laws to limit children’s use of social media. He cited efforts to protect children from social media in other countries, such as Australia and Britain, as examples.
In Egypt, about 50 percent of children under the age of 18 use social media platforms, according to a 2024 report by the National Center for Social and Criminological Research.
Last December, Australia became the first country to ban children under the age of 16 from accessing social media. The move has sparked a wider debate about technology use, privacy, child safety and mental health.
The UK government has also begun work to tighten laws to protect children from harmful content and excessive screen time, and to block young people from social media. French President Emmanuel Macron has ordered the government to speed up legislation regulating social media, targeting children under 15, to come into effect next September.
