The state government will propose a bill to restrict access to social networks for minors under 14 years of age; establish parental authorization for them to use them when they are 15 to 17 years old; and restrict the use of smartphones in the state education system, announced the governor of Querétaro, Mauricio Kuri González.
The proposal will be submitted this week to both the local Legislature of Querétaro and the Congress of the Union.
Mauricio Kuri declared that he will manage the initiative with local deputies; in addition to seeking an approach with the Senate of the Republic in order to lobby his proposal at the national level.
“It is also very important that we can demand that social media platforms help us, they are a very important part of this and that we can start working and taking care of children because it is a very delicate issue,” he commented.
In this regard, the governor declared this Monday that the social networks Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp will join the initiative.
The initiative –which was spread on Sunday night through the governor’s social networks- proposes to prohibit social media companies from granting access to minors under 14 years of age.
It also contemplates establishing the obligation to issue parental authorization for adolescents aged 15 to 17 to use these platforms.
Likewise, he explained, the prohibition of the use of smart phones in the state educational system is foreseen, to promote “a comprehensive education free of distractions.”
As well as increasing the penalties for the commission of digital crimes, toughening the sanctions for pedophiles and digital harassers.
The creation of “Youth Zones” will be promoted, for which he will call upon municipal presidents and sports authorities to generate spaces that promote coexistence, sports and culture, promoting healthy interaction and personal development.
According to the governor, the initiative has the objective of protecting girls, boys and adolescents from the risks associated with the digital environment.
The state’s Secretary of Education, Martha Elena Soto Obregón, explained that a survey was conducted between November 2024 and February 2025 among high school students: 30% said they had been victims of digital violence, 84% of parents expressed great concern about the use of social networks. She also specified that last year they detected 100 cases weekly, mainly due to anxiety, depression and stress; more than 50% of these cases are minors.
The Secretary of Youth, Virginia Hernández Vázquez, stated that there are 373,000 children from 8 to 17 years of age in the state, of which 70% have access to the Internet; among them, she said, those who reported having been victims of harassment through these digital tools. She added that there are risks for this population group: addiction to social networks, cyberbullying, pornography and human trafficking.
This initiative plans to reform the General Law on the Rights of Girls, Boys and Adolescents, as well as the Federal Law on Telecommunications and Broadcasting.
Source: es-us.finanzas.yahoo
