South Africa is introducing its first targeted intervention on children’s digital exposure, though it remains narrow in scope. Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube informed Parliament that the department is developing national screen-time guidelines for children aged two to six to protect the development of language, attention, memory, and social skills.
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The department is drawing on international research linking prolonged early childhood screen exposure to delays in cognition, language, and fine motor control, as well as reduced sleep and reading. Additionally, the department is reviewing the 2004 white paper on e-education and creating practical guidance for AI in classrooms. Gwarube summarized this approach: “The machine may assist but the teacher must decide, the learner must think and the system must protect.”
While welcome, the advisory guidelines will only target the early childhood development band and will not be legally enforceable. This policy stops short of addressing the broader global debate regarding smartphone restrictions in classrooms and social media access for older children.
As a result, South Africa lags behind international jurisdictions legislating strict digital boundaries. Last December, Australia banned children under 16 from major platforms like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Snapchat, placing the financial onus on platforms to enforce the restriction. Similarly, Malaysia is planning an under-16 ban, while the European Parliament has called for a harmonized social media age limit of 16 across the bloc, alongside a digital limit of 13 for video-sharing and AI companions.
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South Africa has no comparable legislation in the pipeline. Current frameworks like the Cybercrimes Act and the Protection of Personal Information Act touch on online safety but do not target children specifically. Furthermore, Communications Minister Solly Malatsi’s draft Audio and Audio Visual Services and Online Content Safety Bill remains unpassed.
The country’s broader response to online harms remains reactive, fragmented, and outdated. For instance, the Film and Publications Board still relies on classification models designed for the DVD era. Meanwhile, millions of South African children continue to use major social media platforms daily, frequently without supervision or technical safety barriers.
