A majority at Copenhagen Municipality's Children and Youth Committee decided on Friday to ban social media during school hours, effective from the end of October.
In a press statement, Copenhagen Municipality said that a firewall which is already used to block several websites with harmful content will now be extended to gaming, shopping, and social media.
The new measure will take effect on October 31st and will apply to all grade levels at all schools in the municipality, Copenhagen Municipality’s press office newswire Ritzau.
The majority behind the decision includes the left-wing Red-Green Alliance (Enhedslisten) and Alternative parties along with the centre-left Social Democrats and Socialist People's Party (SF).
SF spokesperson for children and youth issues at Copenhagen city council Rasmus Steenberger described the decision as a way of protecting the well-being of young people.
"Our relationships are affected if we spend too much time on screens," he said.
The block will only apply on schools’ networks, however.
In the statement, schools are encouraged to introduce a mobile phone policy to supplement the decision.
Conservative city councillor for Copenhagen Jakob Næsager said he did not back the measure.
"I would rather teach children about digital literacy and how to navigate the internet than teach them about censorship," Næsager said, noting that school students will still be able to use social media on their phones and tablets.
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