The Parliamentary Committee rejected the amendments to the Child Protection Act
The Committee on Labour, Social and Demographic Policy did not adopt at first reading the draft law aimed at restricting the use of mobile devices in classrooms and access to social networks for children under the age of 16. The proposal received 6 votes "in favour", 0 "against", and 14 "abstentions".
The main goal of the sponsors from GERB-UDF is to protect children from addictions, harmful content, and negative influences in the digital environment.
Key proposals in the draft law:
- Ban on mobile devices in schools, except for educational or health-related purposes.
- Introduction of a technological means for age verification when accessing social networks.
- Restriction on the registration of children under 16 on social platforms without parental consent.
- Ability for parents to block applications and set time limits for internet usage.
- Fines of up to 10 million euros for platforms in case of non-compliance with the rules.
Criticisms and institutional positions
Although institutions such as the State Agency for Child Protection (SACP), the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy (MLSP), and the Ministry of Education and Science (MES) support the idea of better protection for children, they raised a number of concerns. The main apprehensions are related to:
- The lack of a clear technical concept for a "digital wallet".
- Possible risks to personal data security.
- The need for a wider public debate and expert analysis.
- The concern that prohibitions without educational measures will not be effective.
Members of Parliament from various political factions expressed the opinion that the bill is important as a concept but requires serious revisions before it can be turned into functional legislation.