Spain to put warning labels on potential health effects of smartphones

As Spain pushes ahead with a bill to limit children's exposure to technology, a committee of 50 experts has called for minors' exposure to digital devices to be limited until they turn 13, in a bid to reduce what they say are increasingly serious public health risks.

The nearly 250-page report by experts, obtained by the Spanish newspaper El País, recommends that children under the age of 3 should have absolutely no exposure to any digital devices. For children under 6, the use of these devices should only be allowed in exceptional and necessary situations.

For children aged 6 to 12, experts recommend giving priority to using phones that only have calling functions and do not connect to the Internet. In addition, offline activities, such as sports, are also considered good choices for comprehensive development.

The report calls on the Spanish government to consider placing warning labels on digital devices sold to inform consumers about the health risks associated with the use of social media and digital devices. At the same time, the report also highlights the negative effects that can occur when children are exposed to content that is not appropriate for their development.

In addition, the report also suggests that similar warnings should appear on screens when users access certain apps or platforms, providing details about health risks and maximum recommended usage times.

In addition, the report calls on governments to recognize mobile phone addiction as a public health threat, an important step to promote the development of effective prevention measures and early detection systems.

Questions about screen time and related behaviors should be included in health consultations for all age groups, and “screening for depression, anxiety, and technology use” should be routinely included in well-child visits for adolescents.

The commission was set up earlier this year in response to what Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez described as a “real epidemic” of children accessing pornography online.

Regarding this issue, Prime Minister Sánchez shared in January: "These figures are both remarkable and very worrying. One in four young people under the age of 12 and almost half of adolescents under the age of 15 have been exposed to or are exposed to pornography."

The final report, however, took a more comprehensive approach to the issue, focusing not just on children's access to pornography but also extending to their use of digital devices.

The intervention comes amid a growing global debate about the impact of technology on children, a debate that has prompted schools around the world to adopt strict controls on the use of mobile phones in the classroom.

In France, a government-commissioned study published in April found that children should not use smartphones before the age of 13 and should be banned from accessing popular social media platforms such as Facebook, TikTok and Instagram until they turn 18.

In Spain, where figures show a quarter of children own a mobile phone by the age of 10 and nearly half by the age of 11, the Socialist-led coalition government proposed a draft law to protect minors in June this year.

The draft law proposes that parental controls be installed by default on mobile devices, and a national education campaign to help children and young people use social media safely and responsibly.

The bill also introduces new data requirements that, if passed, would raise the minimum age to open a social media account from 14 to 16. Teachers and health workers would also be trained to identify and intervene promptly with children at risk of smartphone addiction.

The draft law is currently in a public consultation phase and is expected to be finalised through a report prepared with input from organisations such as the European Digital Transformation Association, along with health professionals such as paediatricians and psychiatrists.

The experts' report also mentioned the importance of the wider social environment in reducing children's exposure to technology, stressing that not only educational institutions but also families play an important role in protecting children.

Accordingly, the report calls for special training programs for families, where experts can answer questions about how children can use the Internet safely, including identifying and avoiding online risks.

This program will provide knowledge on how to limit children's access and exposure to digital devices, and provide tools to manage screen time.

In addition, the report also recommends that schools need to eliminate educational applications that provide instant gratification, helping children focus on learning and developing long-term skills instead of seeking short-term, easy experiences.