Sweden mulling online access age limits

Sweden's government is considering age limits for social media use following an upsurge in violent crime involving young people recruited online by criminals in what have been called "digital marketplaces".

In a decade, Sweden's gun crime statistics have gone from being among Europe's lowest to the highest, and Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has blamed "irresponsible immigration policy and failed integration", adding "I cannot over-emphasize the seriousness of the situation… no other country in Europe is seeing anything like it".

The problem has spread to Denmark, with Swedish youngsters being hired by criminals there.

Denmark's Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard attacked what he called Sweden's "totally sick, depraved culture of violence … it's terrifying in every way and it makes me angry".

In 2023, Sweden saw 363 shooting incidents and 55 deaths. In Norway, Finland, and Denmark combined, there were six fatal shootings.

On Monday, the four countries' justice ministers met technology company chiefs to outline their concerns.

"It's a very serious situation," said Sweden's Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer after talking to representatives of companies including TikTok, Meta, Google, and Snapchat. Telegram and Signal were invited but did not attend.

In November, Australia introduced a social media ban for under 16s, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese saying: "We want our kids to have a childhood and parents to know we have their backs."

The Swedish government says it will look at measures being taken in other countries to decide the best way forward.

Swedish Education Minister Johan Pehrson hinted that a ban was an option. "We see that children are stuck in this dark sludge, throwing away their lives," he said.

Reuters reported that a common theme emerging in the trials of youngsters was a connection to Sweden's youth homes, built to look after children in state care but also functioning as punishment facilities for young offenders.

"State-run homes have functioned as a kind of recruitment base from the criminal networks," said Strommer. "It's a monumental failure."

But Birgitta Dahlberg, head of youth care at the National Board of Institutional Care, said it was harsh to blame the homes' inability to manage people who they were not designed for.