Estonia has operated on the principle that a child's right to use the internet cannot be completely withdrawn, Pakosta said, noting: "We would like this to remain voluntary: If a family wants to restrict it, then the family restricts it, but as a state we won't impose any age limits."

"If you bar teenagers from something, they will find a way around it," the minister went on.

Pakosta noted that school could provide aspects that may be lacking at home, adding it is more important to educate children early about risks and teach them to care for their mental health.

Board chair of the parents' union (Lastevanemate liit) Kiur Lootus said with apps unsuitable for under-16s, the first guardian should be the app's creator, who should not permit it to be downloaded by minors in the first place.

Lootus added that not all parents are equally aware of the effects certain apps can have, so in some cases may not know how to make the right choice – particularly once peer pressure is applied.

"A 16-year-old cares much more about their peers' opinions than those of their parents. Even if a parent means well, they might end up with a very poor relationship with their child instead," Lootus said, speaking on behalf of the parents' union.

"Today we are still seeing that where necessary, these apps can also be restricted from higher up. Our position is that placing the full responsibility on the parent to decide what the child uses involves too many risks," Lootus added.

Jürgen Rakaselg, head of inclusive education at the Ministry of Education and Research, took a broader look at the internet, apps and social media in particular.

He said an increasing number of studies are showing that the core issue for mental health may not be how much time we spend on devices, but rather what we do with that time.

"I agree with the concept that this should be monitored. We are at a historic point today – just like when the car was invented, when it still took decades before people began to consider that maybe we need seat belts, maybe we need other things to help ensure safety, maybe we even need driver's licenses. And we actually don't have any of that with the social media platforms even today," Rakaselg said.

Rakaselg argued that in technologically advanced countries like Estonia, this is easier to implement. The problem, he said, is that while in many countries parental consent is not enforceable, the number of users in Estonia is so small that tech giants may not take the country seriously. "We technically have all the means for this. We see it today too – if you're creating an account, take Facebook for instance – in theory, minors shouldn't be on there below a certain age floor. But in practice, we have been seeing that people make accounts for their cats or whatever without any problems at all."

This spring, telecommunications company Elisa began cooperating with the child protection union (Lastekaitse liit) to raise families' digital awareness.
Aigi Kukk, head of sustainability at telco Elisa, also said that broader public discussion is needed on the dangers of the digital world and how to protect children from them.

Children enter the digital world ahead of the minimum age required, she noted.
"This may mean that the child, when creating the account, claims to be older than they actually are, or the parent has helped create the profile for some purpose," said Kukk.

"Our clients' real-life experience also shows that children can find various ways to bypass even technological parental controls," she added.

The social media platform Instagram, owned by Meta, wants EU regulation which would require parental consent for users under 16 to use its service. According to a new Morning Consult survey, this has gained the support of parent representative bodies in some of the larger EU member states.

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