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Vast majority of Swiss support social media ban for under-16s

Majority of population in favour of social media ban for children
Most Swiss residents are in favour of social media ban for under-16s. Keystone-SDA

Around 80% of people who took part in a recent survey in Switzerland said they were in favour of a social media ban for under-16s.

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Support for a ban on mobile phones in schools is almost just as high, according to the study by the Sotomo research institute published on Sunday. It says these results suggest that more measures are needed to protect children online.

Also, 85% believe that children are not sufficiently informed about the safety risks on the internet. In addition, around a third of the parents of minors surveyed said they were unable to protect their children sufficiently.

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In all, 43% of respondents are concerned about cyberbullying. Cybergrooming – the targeted manipulation of children for sexual purposes (40%) – and contact with sexual content (37%) are also perceived as dangers. Excessive internet use represents a major challenge for over a third of respondents.

+ Why TikTok’s influence worries Switzerland

The survey was conducted for Sotomo’s Cyber Worry Monitor between February 26 and March 10. Around 1,700 adults from German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland took part.

Translated from French by DeepL/sb

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