Ghana's Children Spending Up to Seven Hours Daily Online CRI Demands Social Media Ban for Under-17s

Child Rights International (CRI) has called on the Ghanaian government to enact and enforce legislation barring children below the age of 17 from accessing social media platforms, warning that the country's unregulated digital environment is exposing young people to serious harm.

CRI, described as a child-friendly think tank and welfare advocate, has called on the government to develop and enforce legislation that restricts access to social media platforms for children below the age of 17 years. The call comes after a study by the NGO showed that many social media platforms expose children to harmful and age-inappropriate content, including harmful online trends and misinformation, while providing limited content that positively supports their moral and cognitive development.

The study, which CRI conducted as a rapid inquiry into screen time usage among Ghanaian children, focused on those between the ages of five and twelve. The study engaged children between the ages of five and 12 years and explored their patterns of screen use, access to online content, and experiences in the digital environment, driven by concern about the growing exposure of children to harmful online content and risks resulting from the unregulated and unsupervised digital ecosystem.

The findings on daily screen time are striking. About 80 per cent of the children reported daily engagement with screens for extended periods, averaging about two to seven hours a day, often without consistent parental supervision. Mobile phones have emerged as the dominant access point. Children use mobile phones and tablets more due to their portability and convenience, allowing them to remain connected for longer periods, often using these devices for both educational and entertainment purposes.

The exposure to harmful content is a central finding. A particularly alarming finding is the growing exposure of children to online sexual content and sexual exploitation risks. The study identified sexual invitations, inappropriate messages and exposure to sexually explicit materials as some of the most common forms of harmful interactions experienced by children online.

The problem is compounded by children's access to adults' devices. In many cases, this exposure is further intensified when children use adults' mobile phones, where algorithm-driven recommendations based on the device owner's browsing history and usage patterns may expose them to age-inappropriate content, often bypassing parental controls and safety filters.

The developmental consequences are also beginning to show. Children who spent longer hours on screens were found to have fewer opportunities for outdoor play, peer interaction, and meaningful family engagement than children who reported lower screen time.CRI has drawn a stark long-term projection from these trends, warning that if nothing changes, 10 years from now, children will cease to have meaningful family conversations, leading to a breakdown of the family socialization structure.

Some of the children are increasingly influenced by social media personalities and content creators, many of whom have become important role models in their lives. However, the content they produce is often not subject to child protection standards and may promote behaviors, attitudes and lifestyles that are unsuitable for children's healthy moral, cognitive and psychological development.

Among its recommendations, CRI called for urgent action to strengthen child protection measures within Ghana's digital environment, including a ban on social media platforms for ages under 17 years. The legislation should include mandatory, robust age-verification systems for all digital platforms operating within the country, alongside clear penalties for non-compliance.

CRI also urged parents to take direct responsibility. Parents and caregivers should make use of built-in child safety features on digital devices, applications and online platforms, including parental controls, content filters, and age-restriction settings, and should set clear and consistent screen-time boundaries while engaging in conversations that promote safe, responsible and informed digital behavior.

The Executive Director of CRI, Bright Appiah, acknowledged the role of technology in children's education but insisted that protective measures could not remain optional. He said the findings demonstrated that the benefits of digital technology must be balanced with robust child protection measures, warning that without effective safeguards, children remain vulnerable to harmful content, online sexual exploitation, cyber abuse, and the adverse effects of excessive screen time.

The CRI position comes amid a growing global wave of legislative action. Australia became the first country in the world to ban social media use for children under 16, with the law taking effect in December 2025, restricting access to platforms including TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook. The UK announced a social media ban for children under 16 on 15 June 2026, with over 40 countries now considering similar bans.

Within Africa, movement has been slow but is emerging. Gabon remains the only African country to have implemented such legislation, with a law that prohibits minors from operating personal social media accounts except for educational purposes and places legal responsibility on parents and guardians to supervise their children's online activities.

Ghana's existing legal framework offers a partial foundation. Ghana's Cybersecurity Act, 2020 (Act 1038), Sections 62 to 65, criminalizes grooming, indecent images of children, and online sexual exploitation, with penalties of 5 to 25 years imprisonment, and holds internet service providers liable for aiding and abetting. However, the law does not restrict a child's access to social media in the first place.

The data on Ghana's online child harm context underscores the urgency of CRI's position. In 2024, there were over 23,000 reports of child sexual abuse material linked to Ghana, up from just 750 in 2016. A survey of senior high school girls in Accra found that one in three had been blackmailed on social media, either for money or for sex.

Mustapha Bature Sallama.
Medical/ Science Communicator,
Private Investigator, Criminal investigation and Intelligence Analysis.

International Conflict Management and Peace Building.USIP

[email protected]
+233-555-275-880
References:
Samuel Ohene Ewur, "Restrict social media access for children under 17 years Child Rights International to the State," Daily Graphic / Graphic Online, June 22, 2026. https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/ghana-news-restrict-social-media-access-for-children-under-17-years-child-rights-international-to-the-state.html

"Full list: 20 countries that have banned social media for teenagers see the only African country included," Pulse Ghana, June 17, 2026. https://www.pulse.com.gh/story/full-list-20-countries-that-have-banned-social-media-for-teenagers-see-the-only-african-country-included-2026061711235043250

Amnesty International, "Global: Young voices on social media bans," June 2026. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2026/06/global-young-voices-on-social-media-bans/

Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, "Protecting our kids online," April 21, 2026. https://www.telecomschamber.org/industry-news/protecting-our-kids-online/

Child Rights International Ghana official website. https://crighana.org/