A Moscow court sentenced the alleged founder of the Hydra darknet market, which operated from 2015 to 2018 and traded drugs, forged documents and hacking tools, to a historic life sentence.
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Experts have suggested that the Spanish government impose stricter restrictions on the use of digital devices by children, including a total ban on use by children under the age of three and a minimum ban on the use by children under the age of six.
50 experts presented a report to the Spanish government recommending a radical reduction in children’s access to digital devices. The report states that:
– Children under the age of three should be completely excluded from access to screens.
– Access to children under the age of six should be possible only in exceptional cases.
– Children between the ages of six and twelve are advised to use non-internet phones designed for calls and text messages only.
In addition, experts called for the introduction of mandatory warnings on digital devices about possible risks to children’s health. It is recommended to add such warnings to the platform or application. The report also recommends considering smartphone addiction as a public health problem, which will help develop prevention and early detection systems.
The government-drafted bill also proposes raising the minimum age for social media registration from 14 to 16. The proposals were prompted by the wider issue of the “epidemic” of online child pornography and the impact of digital devices on its development.
Similar initiatives have appeared in other countries. In France, it is not recommended to use smartphones under the age of 13, and in Australia, a law was passed that prohibits children under the age of 16 from using social networks.
The Spanish government proposed the bill after Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that almost half of children under 15 are exposed to pornography. Earlier, experts from King’s College London found out that addiction to smartphones can lead to insomnia, anxiety and depression in teenagers.
Spain aims to protect children from the negative effects of digital devices by introducing strict restrictions. If the recommendations are adopted, the country will become an example for other countries in the fight against smartphone addiction among young people.
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