A bill introduced in Paraguay's Senate seeks to ban minors under 16 from accessing social media platforms such as X, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. The proposal also stipulates that teenagers aged 16 and 17 may only create and maintain accounts on these platforms with prior, express, and verifiable consent from their parents or guardians.
The initiative modifies and expands Law 5653/2016, which protects children and adolescents from harmful internet content. The text was signed by Senators Patrick Kemper, Antonio Barrios, Lizarella Valiente, Natalicio Chase, Sergio Rojas, and Javier Zacarías Irún. The president of the Senate Human Rights Committee, Mario Varela, requested a legal opinion from the Judiciary on the proposal, according to the source consulted.
The bill requires internet providers to supply customers free of charge with parental control software that filters and blocks content deemed harmful, such as material inciting racial hatred, non-fictional violence, or discrimination. The tools must allow configuration of protected browsing profiles, domain access restrictions, and management of connection schedules and times. Companies will also have to provide an instructional manual on installing and using these features, with guidance on digital literacy and cybersecurity.
Public and private educational institutions, businesses, and other public-access spaces must install and keep active network protection systems, with filtering and blocking applied to all connected devices. Schools will be required to perform quarterly preventive maintenance of network settings.
Failure by internet companies to comply with the obligations may result in sanctions from the competent regulatory body. Parents could also face sanctions if they fail to report that an electronic device will be used by a child or adolescent, in accordance with the restrictions set out in the bill.
The proposal defines social media as services whose primary function is to facilitate social interaction among users, enabling them to create, share, or view content and form digital communities. Excluded from this definition are private messaging services such as WhatsApp, as well as email, educational platforms, and banking services.
Age verification procedures must follow the principle of data minimization, without collecting or storing biometric information or identity documents. The National Observatory for the Protection of Children's and Adolescents' Rights on the Internet (ONAI) will have functions set out in the future law.