Mexico orders platforms to protect minors online

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum signed a decree on October 14 requiring digital platforms to limit minors’ exposure to harmful online content, verify users’ ages and provide parental controls. Platforms have one month to comply, government adviser Luisa María Alcalde said. The decree covers social media and streaming platforms and content described in reports as involving violence, sexual abuse, hate speech, suicide, self-harm, eating disorders and cyberbullying. Reports also describe requirements to remove material or accounts promoting violence and to provide mechanisms for reporting harmful content. The precise obligations vary across descriptions of the decree, and its text was not provided in the reports. Sheinbaum said companies had met with the government and requested time to adjust their platforms. Officials said representatives of Meta, Microsoft, Apple, TikTok, Google, X and Huawei had been consulted. The reports do not establish that the companies agreed to comply, and no implementation results were available as of October 15. The decree is scheduled to take effect one month after it was signed.