MBABANE – Government is examining measures to shield children from harmful social media content as countries tighten age restrictions on young users.
The issue came under scrutiny in Senate last week when Senator Isaac Magagula asked what was being done to prevent minors from accessing social media platforms that expose them to harmful content. Magagula sought to know what mitigating measures were in place to combat what he described as a scourge affecting children.
Responding on behalf of the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs during the Senate debate on the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office First-Quarter Performance Report, the DPM’s Office said it was working with the Ministry of Information, Communications and Technology (ICT) on the regulation of online content.
“On the issue of regulating content on social media platforms, the office works in close collaboration with the Ministry of ICT to ensure that contents on certain social media platforms are censored, as per the practice globally, to ensure that children are protected from accessing harmful social media sites,” the DPM’s Office stated.
It further pointed to the regulatory framework administered through the Eswatini Communications Commission (ESCCOM), saying it was intended to ensure compliance with cyber laws and protect children from harmful and inappropriate online content. The response, however, did not announce a specific minimum age for social media use in Eswatini or indicate that government had adopted a blanket restriction on under-16 accounts.
Instead, it signals that the protection of children online is increasingly being treated as a regulatory issue involving content control, cybersecurity, data protection and cooperation between government agencies.
Eswatini already has legislation dealing with a range of online harms.
The Computer Crime and Cybercrime Act, 2022 criminalises offences committed through computer systems and electronic communications networks and gives ESCCOM powers to regulate and coordinate cybersecurity matters.
ESCCOM has also identified cyberbullying, grooming, hate speech, online harassment and privacy violations among the risks facing children and young people online. The commission says the 2022 cybercrime law provides protection for children and young people and penalties for perpetrators of internet-related crimes.
The country’s Data Protection Act, 2022, also recognises data relating to children as sensitive personal information, while ESCCOM serves as the national data protection agency. The question of whether these laws are sufficient to address children’s access to social media comes as governments in other countries move beyond regulating harmful content to regulating who can have an account in the first place.
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