Sherzod Shermatov: a law restricting social media for children will not solve all problems in one day

The minister on the limits of a legislative ban

Restricting access to social media for children under 16 will not fully solve the problem, said Digital Technologies Minister Sherzod Shermatov in an interview with the Gazeta.uz newspaper on the sidelines of the World Summit on Investing in Children's Wellbeing, held in Samarkand. According to him, “if the law is adopted, all problems will not be solved the very next day,” and even in countries where such restrictions have been introduced, the issue has not been fully resolved.

What the minister proposes

Shermatov stressed that new technologies open up learning opportunities for children, but at the same time create health risks: excessive screen time, a sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy eating. He noted that to reduce time spent on gadgets, it is important to offer children activities away from screens, opportunities to socialise with peers and physical activity. “Children’s internet use can be restricted at school, but the question of the family atmosphere remains”, the minister said, adding that some parents give a child a phone so that they do not cry, and even at the family dinner table, instead of talking, everyone looks at their phones. In his view, there is no single solution that would be equally effective in all countries: alongside legislative measures, a comprehensive programme with organisational solutions and meaningful children’s leisure is needed. Based on the summit discussions and experts’ recommendations, the minister said, a roadmap must be prepared, and ministries and agencies must improve their work.

Context: the draft law has been discussed since June

In June 2026, former Minister of Preschool and School Education Ezzoza Karimova reportedthat Uzbekistan plans to legislatively restrict the use of social media by children under 16; according to her, the issue was discussed with deputies and senators, and the draft law is to be put forward for public discussion. Earlier, according to Gazeta.uz, the children’s ombudsman, representatives of the Agency for Social Protection and the Ministry of Preschool and School Education spoke in favour of “normative, conscious restriction” and control, while UNICEF recommended involving teenagers themselves in developing the measures.

Why this matters

The event concerns families, schools and the developers of future rules for internet use: the position of the relevant minister shows that the draft law being prepared will most likely be supplemented with leisure programmes and a “roadmap” for agencies, rather than reduced to a single ban. In practical terms, this means that the timing and content of restrictions for children under 16 have not yet been determined — the draft law has not yet been put forward for public discussion, and the minister did not provide specific statistics on the share of children using the internet.