The Mexican government is exploring age restrictions on social media, according to Education Minister Mario Delgado.
In an interview with the news outlet AFP, Delgado said the initiative would aim to protect the mental health of young people, given the lack of regulation by the tech companies that control social media sites.
“The State has the responsibility for the guardianship and education of minors,” Delgado said. “And that’s why we should think about setting certain limits, because I don’t see any responsibility from companies to take charge of this.”
Mentioning Facebook and TikTok by name, Delgado said the tech companies are only interested in attracting followers at the expense of protecting children. “There are no filters on the content that could affect the emotional health of children,” he said.
The secretary acknowledged that Mexico’s interest in banning young people from social media is a direct result of Australia’s pioneering efforts in recent months.
In December of last year, Australia became the first country in the world to ban social media for children under 16 years of age, followed by France, which lowered the minimum age to 15. As of March 28, Indonesia will also join the trend, becoming the first country in Asia to ban social media platforms for minors younger than 16 years.
Mexico’s potential ban was celebrated by French President Emmanuel Macron, who wrote a short statement in Spanish on his official X account.
¡Qué padre!
✅ Gracias por unirse al movimiento. https://t.co/jgMSzTMAYr
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) March 11, 2026
“¡Qué padre! Gracias por unirse al movimiento,” the message said. (“How cool! Thanks for joining the movement.”)
Spain and Denmark are also exploring similar restrictions.
The federal government has opened a series of consultations with experts, civil society and technology companies to determine the types of restrictions that should be implemented (age limits are not the only available restrictions). According to Delgado, the feedback gathered from these discussions is expected to lead to concrete proposals by June of this year.
“We want [the proposals] to come from the people, drawing on the experience of parents, communities and teachers,” Delgado said. “They should guide us on which restrictions to implement and how to regulate them.”
At the local level, Jalisco’s Congress is studying a bill that bans the use of social networks by minors under 14 years of age on school grounds. Furthermore, it empowers municipalities to ensure that cafes, shopping centers and other public internet access points have content filters or require informed consent from parents.
In contrast, Australia’s federal law places almost all the burden on the platforms, not on minors or their families. According to the law, social media platforms must take “reasonable steps” to prevent minors under 16 years of age from creating or maintaining accounts, regardless of parental consent.
With reports from Quadratin Jalisco and El Economista
