Earlier this week, a US court caused a shock when it issued a ruling sentencing a large corporation of technology - owners of two social networks with a large number of registered accounts - to a fine of up to 942 million USD after two trials, accusing these platforms of harming young people.
The press quoted the State Attorney General, affirming: "Today's decision is a great victory for parents who are daily worried about the impact of social media on their children, as well as for children who have the right to be safely protected in cyberspace.
Protecting children in cyberspace, especially social networks, is no longer a story of a state or a country but has become global.
A smartphone can open the door for children to enter a vast knowledge store, but it can also take them to spaces that parents do not know at all.
With just a few operations, children can be exposed to violent videos, unsuitable for their age content, disguised advertisements, friend requests from strangers or dangerous challenges spreading online. More worryingly, risks are not always obvious for children to recognize and avoid.
At the group discussion session on the socio-economic situation in April 2026, National Assembly Delegate Nguyen Thi Mai Thoa (Delegation
Hai Phong City) raised concerns about the reality of school violence, "dirty" food, and child safety in cyberspace. From this reality, delegates proposed to study solutions to ban or restrict children from using some popular social networking platforms, accompanied by other specific conditions and solutions.
It is undeniable that no parents can sit next to their children throughout the time they use their phones. Even in a family that closely cares about their children, parents find it difficult to know what content algorithms are putting on their children's screens at 10 pm, whether strangers are texting or a seemingly harmless comment can affect children's psychology.
In particular, children and adolescents have not fully developed the ability to identify risks, control emotions and assess consequences. Meanwhile, this characteristic makes them easily drawn into the mechanisms of retaining users of social networks.
Continuously proposing content algorithms, unlimited scrolling features, automatic video playback and continuous notifications can make children spend more and more time on the screen.
Psychologists believe that social networks are related to issues such as anxiety, loneliness, reduced self-esteem, body image disorders in adolescents; at the same time, children face online bullying, violent content, fraud and privacy infringement.
When a product is designed for users to stay as long as possible, it is not possible to just say to a child: "You must know how to control yourself".
In the draft amendment of Decree 147/2024, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism also proposed stronger regulations.
According to the draft content cited in the document, children under 16 years old are not allowed to register for social media accounts themselves, but the registration must be carried out by parents or guardians. More notably, children's accounts are proposed to only view content, not to post, comment, interact or share. The account must also be defaulted to the highest level of privacy protection; platforms must proactively prevent harmful content, determine the age of users and coordinate with functional agencies when detecting child abuse.
If designed and implemented appropriately, this could be a necessary "barrier". However, it is also necessary to recognize that a simple ban is unlikely to become the final solution. Because, accurately verifying the age of millions of users is not simple. If blocked on a social network, children may switch to games, video platforms or other online spaces, even with greater potential risks.
This shows that the problem should not be placed in an extreme direction: either completely banning, or letting children use it freely, but importantly limiting it by age, along with a sufficiently strong protection system.
With young children, the ability to create accounts and public interaction can be greatly limited. When children are older, usage rights can be gradually opened but must come with default privacy mode, time limits, message control from strangers and parental monitoring tools.
Social media is not entirely bad. It can help children learn, connect and broaden their understanding. But a product for adults cannot be tacitly considered suitable for children just because they know how to use the phone proficiently.
Children can manipulate technology very quickly, but that does not mean they are mature enough to face everything technology brings.
Therefore, the current question is probably no longer whether to build a fence for children on social networks or not, but how to design that fence to both protect children and be suitable for digital life.
Age-based prohibition or restriction is a measure worth studying and necessary. But going along with it must be the responsibility of the foundation, the companionship of the family, digital skills education in schools and strong enough sanctions against child abuse.
Cyberspace is increasingly becoming a part of life. We cannot build a wall for children to stand outside forever. Before children are mature enough to step in, adults are responsible for building necessary safety barriers, that is how to take care of the future.
