Ghana can no longer regard children’s exposure to social media as solely a matter of parental responsibility. What was once considered an issue of family oversight has evolved into a significant national concern involving child protection, education, cybersecurity and public policy. As the digital landscape grows increasingly complex and influential, the country’s response must evolve accordingly.
I therefore urge Parliament, the Government, the Ministry of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, the Cyber Security Authority and other relevant regulatory bodies to begin urgently developing a comprehensive national framework to govern children’s independent access to social media platforms.
A key aspect of this national discussion should be the consideration of 16 years as the minimum age at which young people may independently create and manage accounts on designated social media platforms.
This is not a call to deny Ghanaian children access to the internet. Rather, it is a call to safeguard them from online risks such as cyberbullying, grooming, sexual exploitation, fraud, harmful content, manipulation, addictive digital engagement, privacy breaches and other forms of online abuse before they have acquired the maturity and skills needed to navigate these dangers safely.
This is no longer a distant concern
Today, a child can come into contact with online predators, scammers, strangers, or harmful content without ever stepping outside the home. The internet has effectively erased traditional boundaries, bringing the wider world directly into bedrooms, classrooms and other private spaces. Yet many young people are navigating this digital landscape without the maturity, experience or digital literacy needed to recognise and respond to its risks.
This reality compels us to confront an important question: as a nation, are we doing enough to protect Ghanaian children in an online environment that was not necessarily designed with their safety and developmental needs in mind? I believe the answer is no. Waiting for the harmful consequences to become more widespread before taking action would represent a failure of prevention rather than a commitment to protection.
It is important to acknowledge that Ghana is not without legal safeguards. Article 28 of the 1992 Constitution provides protections for children. The Children’s Act, 1998 (Act 560), the Cybersecurity Act, 2020 (Act 1038), and the Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843) all contain provisions that help protect children, including measures against online grooming, sexual exploitation and other forms of digital harm.
However, the digital landscape has evolved dramatically. The key question is whether these existing laws sufficiently address the growing challenge of children independently participating in social media platforms at increasingly younger ages. This is the policy gap that Ghana must now critically examine and address through a more targeted and forward-looking regulatory framework.
Our laws cannot remain static as technology, platform design and children’s online behaviour continue to evolve. The digital world is changing rapidly, and Ghana must pay close attention to these developments.
Ghana is not alone in confronting these questions. Australia has adopted one of the strongest approaches globally. Since 10 December 2025, social-media platforms subject to age restrictions have been required to take reasonable steps to prevent Australians under 16 from creating or maintaining accounts. Importantly, the responsibility rests primarily with the platforms rather than placing penalties on children or their parents.
Other countries are taking similar steps. Greece has introduced restrictions for children under 15, with platform compliance measures scheduled to take effect in 2027. Indonesia introduced restrictions in 2026 on under-16 access to designated high-risk platforms. Malaysia has also moved to prevent children under 16 from registering social-media accounts, while Türkiye has enacted legislation restricting social-media use by children under 15.
Spain has proposed increasing the minimum age for opening social-media accounts to 16, while Poland and Slovenia are developing proposals for tighter restrictions on younger users. New Zealand is likewise pursuing an under-16 framework.
France has taken an under-15 approach, although its proposed nationwide ban has faced constitutional and legal challenges. That experience is particularly instructive because it highlights the need for child-protection laws to be carefully designed—both to safeguard children effectively and to ensure that such measures respect fundamental rights and can withstand legal scrutiny.
Africa must not be left behind
This conversation is also reaching Africa.
Gabon has emerged as an important African example. In April 2026, the country established a digital age of majority of 16 and introduced requirements for age verification on social-media platforms. The framework provides for restrictions on accounts held by younger users and gives platforms a period to implement the requirements.
Europe has now raised the stakes
Developments in Strasbourg this week should serve as a wake-up call for Ghana. On September 16, 2026, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen addressed the European Parliament and unveiled a significant new initiative aimed at strengthening protections for children online. The proposal seeks to bar children under 13 from accessing social media platforms, establish 15 as the minimum age for independently creating an account, and introduce stricter supervision and safeguards for younger teenagers.
The following day, September 17, 2026, the European Commission formally adopted the proposed EU KIDS Act. The legislation would place greater responsibility on technology companies to prove that products and services used by children are safe by design. It also includes measures to curb addictive platform features, limit personalised advertising directed at minors, restrict unsolicited contact, and strengthen age-verification and age-assurance requirements.
These developments reflect a growing international consensus that protecting children online cannot be left solely to families. Governments and regulators are increasingly recognising the need for clear legal frameworks that place children’s safety at the centre of the digital ecosystem. Ghana should take note of these efforts and consider what lessons they may offer as the country evaluates its own approach to safeguarding children in the online environment.
What should Ghana do?
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I am calling for an urgent national process involving Parliament, Government, the relevant Ministries, and regulatory institutions to examine the establishment of a Ghanaian minimum age framework for independent social-media accounts.
The framework should seriously consider 16 years as the minimum age, but it must be intelligently designed:
1. Focus on independent social accounts: It should regulate independent social media accounts rather than prohibit children from using the internet.
2. Protect access to education: It should not prevent children from accessing educational websites, digital learning platforms, research resources, or legitimate services that are necessary for their development.
3. Target companies, not children: It should place the principal compliance obligation on social-media companies, rather than criminalising children or penalising parents.
4. Privacy-preserving age verification: Working closely with the Data Protection Commission (DPC), it should establish effective, privacy-preserving age assurance mechanisms that safeguard children’s identity and personal data against unauthorized tracking or surveillance.
5. Address circumventive technologies: Regulations must account for technical realities, ensuring age-assurance controls are robust enough to address common workarounds, such as Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) or altered birth dates.
6. Eliminate harmful features: It should strengthen safeguards against grooming, exploitation, cyberbullying, harmful content, and manipulative platform design choices (e.g., infinite scrolling, aggressive algorithm recommendations, and
targeted ads).
Regulation alone will not be enough
A minimum age will not solve every problem. Ghana must invest simultaneously in digital literacy. Parents need better tools to understand the online environments their children are entering. Teachers need greater awareness of digital risks affecting students. Children
themselves must be taught how to identify scams, grooming, manipulation, cyberbullying, and other forms of online abuse.
Technology companies must also be required to take child safety seriously at the design stage rather than responding only after harm occurs.
The principle should be simple: Children should not have to be harmed before the system takes their safety seriously.
I am therefore calling for an urgent national policy and legislative process towards stronger protection of children online, including serious consideration of a minimum age of 16 years for independent social-media accounts. I intend submitting a petition to Parliament in the future .
This is not about taking technology away from our children. It is about ensuring that Ghanaian children can enter the digital world at an age and under conditions that give them a better chance of being protected from its most serious risks. The children are Ghana’s future.
Protecting them online is therefore not merely a social responsibility. It is a national responsibility.
The writer, Bright Ofori is Ghanaian citizen
