The Ministry of Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations is exploring measures to regulate children’s access to social media and online adult content, Communications Minister, Samuel Nartey George, has said.
Speaking to the media after honouring 17 teachers in the Ningo-Prampram District for their service, Mr George cited growing online distractions as a major challenge for today’s children, warning that internet and technology use can pull them away from the classroom.
“Well, the ministry has followed it. It’s not just Australia. Australia has banned social media for, I think, kids under the age of 14, 16, 19 on all social media platforms. There are a few states in the U.S. who have also passed social media laws in the past few weeks. So, it’s something that the ministry is monitoring.”
The comments follow Australia’s recent law, which bans children under 16 from accessing major social media platforms, including TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.
He revealed that the Cyber Security Authority has drafted a policy to regulate online access for children, particularly to pornographic and adult content sites.
“If Cabinet approves it, it’ll give us the mandate and the authority to instruct all ISPs and telecom companies in the country to do what happens in the U.K. And that’s the first step we’re doing. The U.K. has a law that mandates that for you to visit any X-rated site, any pornographic or adult content site, you need to show and proof that you are 18. So, it’s not, you know, previously most of the sites just say, click and show if you are 18. A 5-year-old child or a 7-year-old child just click that button. Now, in the U.K., you need to use your driver’s licence to show. And so, that’s what we want Cabinet to approve for us.”
The proposed policy, he said, could be submitted to Cabinet next year for approval before implementation.
“Hopefully, next year, it will be laid before Cabinet and once I’m sure Cabinet will support it, we’ll direct all ISPs in the country to ensure that unless you submit your Ghana card for us to authenticate from your Ghana card from the NIA database that you are 18 and above, all such sites will be blocked to young people in the country because pornography and adult content are a big challenge for us.”
Mr George also said the ministry is engaging technology companies on broader social media issues:
“But we are monitoring the larger social media landscape. I’ve had meetings with Meta. I’ve had meetings with ByteDance, TikTok about content moderation and time limits for kids. So, we’re looking at it. We’re doing a lot of engagement. But eventually, if need be, we will pass legislation. I will not run away as Minister. I will not run away from taking tough decisions to protect children. They may not like it today. Tomorrow, they’ll be grateful that we in authority today, with the responsibility of taking care of the future of our children, took action. If we fail to act today, the generation that’s coming behind us will blame us and call us bad leaders. So, we’ll take the tough decisions today.”
