- More than 20 countries across six regions have enacted or proposed laws and guidelines governing social media use
- The frameworks target three main areas: child protection through age limits, rules for government employees online, and platform accountability for content
- Nigeria, UAE, Egypt, and other African and Middle Eastern nations have introduced their own social media conduct rules
More than 20 countries across the world have either passed or put forward official frameworks to regulate how social media is used, covering everything from minimum age limits to rules for government workers and requirements placed on tech companies.
The policies fall broadly into three categories: protecting children from unregulated access to digital platforms, standardising how public sector employees communicate online, and holding social media companies accountable for the content hosted on their platforms.
Source: Getty Images
Oceania and Europe Lead on Child Protection
According to Macau Business, Australia has gone the furthest in this space, introducing an outright nationwide ban on social media for anyone under 16, backed by mandatory age-verification technology and a dedicated Online Safety Code for platforms.
The United Kingdom has enacted a similar under-16 restriction alongside a Government Communication Service Handbook covering official public sector accounts.
Elsewhere in Europe, France bars children under 15 from registering on platforms without parental approval and is working towards a complete minor ban. Portugal, Spain, Indonesia, Brazil, and Canada are all moving in the same direction, with Brazil using facial scans or identity document checks to enforce the restrictions and Canada pushing to set the registration minimum at 16.
South Korea takes a different approach, targeting the design of platforms themselves by blocking infinite scroll features and recommendation algorithms on accounts belonging to adolescents.
Asia, Africa, and the Middle East
Vietnam has issued a formal Code of Conduct on Social Networks that separates guidelines into three sets of rules: one for ordinary citizens, one for government officials, and one for digital service providers. China enforces real-identity verification across all platforms under central government directives, while Malaysia requires platforms to obtain local representative licences and comply with online safety laws.
In Africa and the Middle East, Nigeria’s National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has outlined a code of practice that bans specific categories of explicit content and requires platforms to operate with greater transparency. Egypt applies traditional broadcasting laws to any social media user with more than 5,000 followers. The United Arab Emirates has issued compliance rules for government use of social networking tools and restricts users under 15.
The Americas
In the Americas, Mexico was among the earliest Latin American countries to publish internal government guidelines for public administration communications online.
Brazil’s framework, which relies on biometric and identity checks, is among the most technically demanding of any country reviewed.
What the Frameworks Have in Common
Across all regions, the recurring theme is that governments no longer treat social media as a self-regulating space. Whether through age gates, platform liability laws, or conduct codes for officials, the direction of travel in 2026 is towards formalised oversight of digital communication at a national level.
Source: Getty Images
Garbon suspends social media
Legit.ng earlier reported that the authority of Garbon has announced the suspension of the social media platforms in the country until further notice, adding that content on social media has fueled conflicts and deepened the divisions in the country.
This was disclosed in a televised statement by the High Authority for Communication (HAC) cited on Tuesday, February 17. The government cited the “unauthorised disclosure of personal data”, the “spread of false information”, and “cyberbullying” as the reasons for the ban.
Source: Legit.ng
