In the News: From Tech to Tobacco, a Year of Age Restrictions

By Alessandra Suuberg, Decency LLC

In 2025, several countries introduced youth-focused bans or restrictions on energy drinks, smoking, technology use, or social media, with an eye toward public health.

Here are some of the bans and restrictions that made headlines this year:

Technology Use

In January, the AP reported that a new law in Brazil would restrict smartphone use in schools.

The AP noted an “associat[ion],” by governments, parents, and others, of “smartphone use by children with bullying, suicidal ideation, anxiety and loss of concentration necessary for learning.”

Energy Drinks

In April, The European Conservative reported that Hungary would ban “[t]he sale of energy drinks to minors,” citing “severe effects on . . . health” when young people “consume energy drinks without limits.”

The outlet reported that, elsewhere in Europe, Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia had previously undertaken regulation of or bans on energy drink sales to minors.

Smoking

In November, the BBC reported that the Maldives had “banned young people born on or after 1 January 2007 from smoking tobacco.”

According to the BBC, this made the Maldives “the only country in the world to enforce a nationwide generational tobacco prohibition.” 

The outlet quoted the Maldives’ health ministry as expressing a “strong commitment to protecting young people from the harms of tobacco.”

Social Media

In December, CNBC reported that Australia had become “the first country to enforce a nationwide under-16 social media ban.” 

The outlet cited arguments from ban-supporters that this move “safeguards children” from various harms, including but not limited to cyberbullying and “exposure to predators.”

Disclaimer: The information and opinions on this site do not include legal advice or the advice of a licensed healthcare provider.