The Minister of Education and Research, Daniel David, pleaded on Tuesday for rigorous parental control regarding teenagers’ access to social networks.
Asked about a possible measure to ban children under 16 from accessing TikTok, the minister said: “I know it was taken in Australia, but there are still no sanctions there either, it’s a ban. It can be discussed in Romania as well”.
“My attitude is rather that we should have a very serious parental control for these things, especially in the area of adolescence. My fear is that if you ban various things, you might create mechanisms through which teenagers will try to avoid the ban and they will be there anyway without controlling what happens. I think a stronger parental control would be a good middle way, but, I repeat, a discussion must be started in the country and there are different solutions”said Daniel David, according to Agerpres.
The new claims come after Daniel David said on December 3 that he does not support banning children and teenagers from accessing social media, stressing that the solution is not to exclude technology, but to use it in a controlled and safe way.
“We’re living an industrial revolution. Technology is here to stay (…) If you start banning things from kids who are in their teenage years, I’m really afraid they’ll find ways hidden from their parents to still get there. I’m not against it, I’m just saying think twice”the minister explained, when asked about the idea of banning minors’ access to social networks.
The Minister of Education also emphasized that, unlike other states that chose to ban mobile phones altogether, Romania applied a balanced approach: the devices cannot be used during classes, but are allowed for educational purposes with the consent of the teacher. The same weighted attitude should be adopted regarding social networks, he pointed out.
