Uzbekistan may develop a draft law restricting the use of social networks by children under the age of 16. This was stated by Minister of Preschool and School Education E'zozxon Karimova on June 26 after an event at the ministry, in an interview with a Gazeta correspondent.

The journalist noted that many countries, including neighboring Kazakhstan, have already launched initiatives to limit minors' use of phones and social media, and asked whether Uzbekistan could take a similar step.

Karimova said that discussions on the issue have been held with parliament deputies and senators, and a draft law is planned to be developed and submitted for public discussion.

“We are also thinking about this issue now. We have talked with our deputies and senators about it. We want to develop a draft law and put it up for public discussion. I think this procedure should also be in place for us,” the minister said.

She noted that it is impossible to completely abandon phones, but it is important to form a culture of their use.

“Now is the age of technology, we cannot take phones away from our children. Of course, a phone is necessary. But there must also be a culture and norm of its use. There is an order to leave the phone before entering school, and there are rules of etiquette. But these rules work somewhere, and somewhere they do not. Now we want to take this under strict control and legally restrict the use of social networks for children under 16,” Karimova said.

Earlier, Gazeta published material on whether it is necessary to ban children from using social networks. In response to the newspaper's survey, the children's ombudsman, representatives of the Social Protection Agency and the Ministry of Education advocated for “normative, conscious restriction” and control. UNICEF recommended involving adolescents in the development of measures.

Source: www.gazeta.uz