Law & Leadership Colloquium with Pastor Tommy: Social Media Regulations

 …necessary evil or doomed future!

Before law school, I had the awkward impression that, Ghana already has enough laws and what was really the only challenge was for the need for more effective implementation of same. I must confess that, my perspective have seen drastic transformation, as I now advocate for both of these two prong-pathways, more specific laws and its realistic implementation, as my views have changed as I get to appreciate the relevance of the right law and how it impacts the quality of regulation and life generally in our part of the world.

In my last week write up, I advocated for a Climate Change law in Ghana, re-hashing expert opinions on same and in this write up, I take same argument into the ever expanding social media world, the very internet of things, influencing the very fabric of societal culture and socializing people, more impactful, I argue, than the traditional parenting and societal influence, that once sort to indoctrinate behaviour and actions.

The rapidly changing and growing mobile industry is an interesting research field for researchers of varied kinds, what easily comes to mind are psychologists, media economics and management scholars, etc.

As a certified Pastoral Counsellor, what stands out for me, in every conversation on social media is its empirical impact on young adults and I am of the school of thought that, its overarching negative and debilitating impact on the next generation is something that needs a national strategy, in dealing with same, most especially in our part of the world.

Clearly, psychologists increasingly leverage such social media platforms (such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok), to communicate with the public, share evidence-based mental health information. The interesting thing about social media, despite its negative ends, is that, even every strategic effort aimed at reaching broad audiences, to provide psychoeducation, and participate in public health campaigns, aimed at mitigating against the never ending conversation on worsening mental health, even in our part of the world, must also strategically incorporate the same channel of strategic communication, that social media as a platform, provides, before its success can be truly reached. This creates a dicey situation, hence the need for proper regulation of same, in my candid opinion.

I have always held this view that, especially in protecting the next generation, social media usage among children and young adults ought to be regulated, but I must confess that, in most of these arguments that I have been involved in, I felt to a large extent, that, I was seen as traditional conservative, who was refusing to move with the tide of time, but my views on same, were most emboldened, when in 2026, the likes of Australia and France, took strict measures, through statutory backing, to enforce same.

Don’t know about you, but on my timelines, I have severally come across usually young teenagers, sometimes, students in various Senior Hugh Schools, clearly below age even 15years, either dancing provocatively sadly or creating potentially adult skit content on social media, when in fact, they should be having no business on this platform, not to mention their roles in same. Whereas in other parts of the world, there are enough legislation that makes the leading social media players, not just accountable, but also, liable for negligence and must pay millions in damages, as its now proven fact that, they have so designed their platforms, to hook young users without concern for their well-being.

On March 31^st, 2026, the upper house of the French parliament votes to ban social media access to children aged under 15 as well as banning mobile phones in senior schools. The proposal was backed by Emmanuel Macron. The French Senate’s crucial banning of social media usage for under 15s, was so epic that, these words of a Senate member, couched its import: “Tonight, the Senate adopted the bill aimed at protecting minors from the risks to which they are exposed by the use of social networks,” … “A text providing for the prohibition of access by minors under fifteen years of age to social networks that may harm their development.” Senate member Laure Darcos had said.

This means that, France is now the first European country to follow in this much needed legislation, as just a few months earlier, Australia, whose world-first ban for under-16s on platforms including Facebook, ​Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube came into force in December.

Whereas in Australia, its more of a done deal and implementation has already resumed with the force of statutory law, in France, despite the French parliamentary process, the entire end, is still far from complete, as a disagreement persists between the government, which advocates a broad ban, and the Senate, which wants to make it conditional on the publication of a list of platforms deemed dangerous for children.

Many loose the import of such state regulations, when the reality of social media is lost on them, I argue, most especially, backed with empirical evidence that, indeed, Social media impacts cognition, emotions, and behavior through mechanisms such as dopamine reward loops, social comparison, and fear of missing out (FOMO) (), as notifications, likes, and algorithm-driven content create variable reward schedules that can reinforce habitual engagement, sometimes leading to compulsive behaviors, which holds potential to challenge mental health, meaningful engagement and connections which can enhance well-being, while passive scrolling or seeking validation may reduce self-esteem and increase anxiety.

In a viral BBC reportage, it asserted that, Australia’s government said the ban would reduce the negative impact of social media’s “design features that encourage [young people] to spend more time on screens, while also serving up content that can harm their health and wellbeing”.

Australia’s epic decision was equally informed by real data, as a study it commissioned in 2025 found that 96% of children aged 10-15 used social media, and that seven out of 10 of them had been exposed to harmful content. This included misogynistic and violent material as well as content promoting eating disorders and suicide and even more saddening was the fact that, one in seven also reported experiencing grooming-type behaviour from adults or older children, and more than half said they had been the victim of cyberbullying.

Maybe, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP) in Ghana should engage Mussa K. Dankwah and his Global InfoAnalytics firm, to undertake such a poll and I am of the view that, the numbers in our part of the world, will be most debilitating, as young people consume the social media content in varied defeating ways.

Statistically, since its inception in 1996, social media has reached more than half of the world’s population and social network platforms’ total user base in the last decade grew from 970 million in 2010 to 5.41 billion users in July 2025.

According to Backlinko, that provides reliable SEO data and owned by the globally respected tech firm, Semrush, the spectacular year-on-year adoption of new users on the platforms, relies on the continuous growth in the number of people with internet access and smartphones, particularly in developing regions, as in terms of technology adoption, it’s mind-blowing to see how quickly social media adoption has grown across the world and there’s a growing number of new social media networks adding more users.

With Ghana’s internet coverage gaining more grounds annually, the statistics of young people having access not just to social media, but the ubiquitous power of the internet, raises alarm on the challenges it equally possess. I hold he view that, if the likes of Australia and France, are already proactively taking steps to protect its growing children, Ghana must likewise take such bold steps and itch its responsive relevance, on the continent, else, the future of Africa and specifically our country, will be destroyed.

I am of the form view that, parenting plays a pivotal role in all this, but a statutory framework that is working and enforceable will support to that end, where the access and regulation of social media usage, is rightly ensured.

In March, a Los Angeles jury found renowned social media players, YouTube and Meta liable in a landmark trial over whether social media companies should be held accountable for fueling a mental health crisis among children, as the other renowned players, Snap and TikTok, also defendants in the trial, had earlier settled with the plaintiff before it began, with terms of the agreements not disclosed.

Though both Meta and Google disagree with the verdict and plan to appeal, ​ this Los Angeles trial is meant to serve as a bellwether, for the thousands of similar lawsuits consolidated in California state courts. In this specific case, it involved a 20-year-old woman, a minor when the case began who is known in court by her first name Kaley, as she had submitted as plaintiff that, she became addicted to Google’s YouTube and Meta’s Instagram at a young age because of their attention-grabbing design, such as the “infinite scroll” that encourages users to keep looking at new posts.

The jury found Google and Meta were negligent in the design of both apps and failed to warn about their dangers. “Today’s ⁠verdict is a referendum — from a jury, to an entire industry — that accountability has arrived,” the plaintiff’s lead counsel said in a statement.

These are enough statistics to challenge an introduction of legislation, to regulate social media in Ghana. Ghana must likewise follow the likes of Australia, to assert forcefully that, social media companies are required to take “reasonable steps” to prevent children under 16years, from accessing their services, with failure to comply inviting hefty penalties (approximately $33.9 million in the passed Australian legislation), to signal Ghana’s intent to hold tech giants accountable and strategically protect the future of our country and continent.

In the Australian instance, just few days following the law’s rollout on 10 December, social media companies collectively deactivated more than 4.7 million accounts identified as belonging to under-16years users — an unprecedented digital purge aimed at reshaping the online landscape for young Australians and this strategic move, signals a broader global shift towards stricter regulation of social media, placing child safety at the centre of the digital age debate and I of the candid view that, Ghana must not be left out, in this forward looking measure in formulating such needed laws.

As watchers, we are following with keen interest any such moves, as resetting Ghana, cannot be inclusive and most impactful, if such a sweeping governmental effort to shelter children from the potential harms associated with such platforms, by putting the country at the vanguard of regulating social media services that parents and educators worry have ensnared a generation of young people, is not the priority of major state actors and stakeholders.

Pastor Tommy Emmanuel O’Dell  is a LLB Student, Ordained Pastor and Certified Counsellor. ([email protected])

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