The federal government is set to hold three regional forums to canvass views on children’s use of social media and artificial intelligence tools and platforms ahead of drafting a legislative proposal to regulate these technologies.
The three forums, announced by President Claudia Sheinbaum at her Monday morning press conference, will be held in Nuevo León on Aug. 19, in Chiapas on Sept. 3 and in Guerrero on Sept. 17.
“We don’t want this to be a government idea imposed on society,” Sheinbaum said, referring to planned legislation to regulate the use of social media and AI by Mexico’s children and adolescents.
Rather, the aim is to build a “consensus” regarding the regulation of minors’ use of AI and “especially” social media sites, such as TikTok and Instagram, she said.
Earlier in the press conference, Education Minister Mario Delgado said that Sheinbaum had proposed an “urgent” debate on the “impact of technologies, social media and artificial intelligence on our lives” and especially on children’s lives.
“This has changed the way in which we relate to each other, communicate, learn and research,” he said.
“It’s an issue that, without doubt, concerns all mothers and fathers,” Delgado said before noting that more than 70% of Mexicans over six, and over 90% of adolescents, use the internet.
He said that the government has a responsibility to not just “guarantee access” to the internet, but also ensure the “safety” and “mental health” of users.
The government needs to establish “regulatory frameworks capable of protecting fundamental rights,” Delgado said.
The education minister said there is evidence that the “massive proliferation” of smartphones and “the expansion of certain dynamics on social media have aggravated the emotional fragility” of young people, creating “insecurity, anxiety and symptoms of depression.”
“The idea that is being proposed in this national debate is not that we need to turn back the clock to a time before [electronic] devices, social media and artificial intelligence, but rather how do we create healthier, less competitive and more supportive environments in our schools and outside them in order to strengthen a protective community for our sons and daughters?”
Delagado said earlier this year that the Mexican government was exploring the possibility of imposing age restrictions on the use of social media.
Following France and Australia, Mexico studies setting a minimum age for social media
“The State has the responsibility for the guardianship and education of minors. And that’s why we should think about setting certain limits, because I don’t see any responsibility from [technology] companies to take charge of this,” he told the AFP news agency in March.
It is not yet known whether the government will seek to ban young people under a certain age from using social media as part of a legislative proposal that could be submitted to Congress later this year.
Deputy education minister: ‘We have to go to the communities, we have to speak to parents’
Delgado said there will be a “broad and deep” debate on the use of social media and AI by minors in Mexico.
Deputy Education Minister Ricardo Villanueva subsequently said that the Ministry of Public Education (SEP), on Sheinbaum’s instructions, initiated a study on young people’s use of new technologies a year ago.
Villanueva noted that countries around the world have regulated the use of cell phones in schools in different ways, while countries such as Australia and France have banned social media for children under the age of 16 in the former case and 15 in the latter.
“It has been identified and there have been court cases that have documented that infinite scrolling, autoplay and [social media] algorithms are designed to create addiction,” said the official, who noted that the use of cell phones at schools is already subject to regulations in 16 of Mexico’s 32 states.
Villanueva highlighted that the SEP has already held discussions on young people’s use of the internet in Mexico City and in Mexico’s northwest and central-west regions. He said that 20,000 people have participated in those discussions, before noting that three regional forums will be held on the topic during the next two months.
“We want everyone to participate, to give us their opinion,” Villanueva said.
“We have invited … all the higher education institutions, all the research centers, asking them to send their experts … in order to approach this from the perspectives of economics, law, psychology, all the academic disciplines in order to enrich the national debate,” he said.
Villanueva added that “the conversation about digital devices can’t remain only among specialists.”
“… We have to go to the communities, we have to speak with parents,” he said before announcing that the SEP is organizing a “National Week of Traditional Games” in September to promote offline activities.
Sheinbaum: ‘It’s not about regulating just for the sake of regulating’
Speaking after presentations from educational psychologist Cimenna Chao Rebolledo and UNESCO’s representative in Mexico, Andrés Morales Arciniegas, Sheinbaum said that the “excessive use” of social media has an impact on children’s development.
Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo informó que iniciaron formalmente las discusiones y debates sobre el uso de las redes sociales en las infancias, adolescencia y juventudes de México.
Aclaró que “no se trata de regular por regular” pic.twitter.com/JwYdOdbZbQ— Monica Garza (@monicagarzag) July 20, 2026
“If a girl or a boy takes a telephone at the age of three or two, her or his development will be very different from a girl or boy who only uses a phone at certain times or doesn’t use one at all,” she said.
Sheinbaum said that the consultation process with experts, parents, teachers, young people and others should lead to “some scheme of regulation” on the use of social media by minors.
However, she stressed that the government’s aim was not to regulate “just for the sake of regulating,” but rather to protect young people from potential harm.
“It’s not about banning [social media use] just for the sake of banning. It’s not about what the president thinks and putting it in a law,” Sheinbaum said.
The aim of “these debates” and “this discussion” is to understand the impact of social media, and technology more broadly, on children and young people, she said.
Sheinbaum also said that in upcoming Monday morning press conferences, the government will present “scientific evidence” on young people’s use of social media.
Mexico News Daily
