Mexico will not enact a social media ban like Australia, says Sheinbaum: Monday’s mañanera recapped

• 📱 Sheinbaum not in favor of a social media ban for minors: The president said she opposes banning young people from using social media, calling the idea “very problematic” since it’s unclear how a ban could be enforced and warning it could make platforms more appealing to teens simply because they’re prohibited.

• 🏫 Teachers to weigh in on devices in schools: Education Minister Mario Delgado announced a nationwide consultation on Aug. 24-25, ahead of the Aug. 31 start of the school year, in which over 1 million teachers across 200,000+ schools will debate what to do about digital devices in classrooms.

• 🇲🇽 Cell phone rules set to go national: Sheinbaum noted that 16 of Mexico’s 32 states already restrict cell phone use in classrooms and said the goal is to regulate this nationwide. She said the government also intends to address excessive screen use, addictive scrolling and children’s exposure to inappropriate content or predators online.

• 🇨🇴 Two Mexicans confirmed dead in Colombia earthquake: Sheinbaum said the Foreign Affairs Ministry has been in contact with the families of two Mexicans who died in last week’s 7.4-magnitude quake in Pereira, Colombia.

Why today’s mañanera matters 

President Claudia Sheinbaum revealed at her Monday morning press conference that she is not in favor of enacting a ban on the use of social media by teenagers under a certain age. Her remarks on the subject came amid an ongoing debate about Mexican children’s use of social media and artificial intelligence prior to the drafting of a legislative proposal to regulate those technologies.

Education Minister Mario Delgado said earlier this year that the Mexican government was exploring the possibility of imposing age restrictions on the use of social media, as the government of Australia did. Various other countries are preparing laws against social media use by young teens, but Sheinbaum indicated that Mexico won’t follow suit.

Also of note at today’s mañanera was the president’s announcement that two Mexicans died as a result of the powerful earthquake that struck Colombia last Monday. Close to 300 people have been confirmed to have died in the quake, while hundreds more are missing.

Mexico has sent around 60 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Colombia, but the Colombian government barred Mexican military rescuers from entering the country.

Teachers to be consulted on the presence of devices in schools 

Delgado announced that teachers across Mexico will be given the opportunity next week to have their say about students’ use of electronic devices in schools.

He said that the consultation will take place on Aug. 24 and 25 ahead of the start of the 2026-27 academic year on Aug. 31.

“More than 1 million teachers in over 200,000 schools in all the federal entities will participate,” Delgado said.

“We’re going to have a conversation and we want teachers to propose and debate what we have to do regarding the presence of digital devices in schools,” he said.

Sheinbaum not in favor of a social media ban for children  

Later in the press conference, Sheinbaum noted that the use of cell phones in classrooms is already “regulated” — i.e, banned — in 16 of Mexico’s 32 states.

“The objective is to regulate [cell phone use in schools] across the whole country,” she said.

“… After this we’ll move on to the issue of how to avoid the excessive use [of technology]” and how to avoid children’s exposure to inappropriate content and contact with adults they don’t know, including possible sexual predators, Sheinbaum said.

“In general, [we’ll look at] how we can regulate [to avoid] endless scrolling and this addiction that is causing so many psychological problems in girls and boys and adolescents,” she said.

Sheinbaum said that the government is seeking to create a “scheme” that ensures that minors’ use of social media is safe. She indicated that she isn’t in favor of banning the use of social media by young people under a certain age.

“This idea that young people can’t have access to social media is very problematic from my point of view,” Sheinbaum said.

“How are you going to control whether they have it or not?” she said, adding that a ban on social media could in fact spur young people to take a greater interest in the use of such platforms simply because they are banned.

Sheinbaum: 2 Mexicans died in earthquake in Colombia 

Sheinbaum told reporters that two Mexicans died as a result of the 7.4-magnitude earthquake that toppled buildings in various towns and cities in western Colombia last Monday.

She said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been in contact with the families of the victims. Sheinbaum also said that relatives of the victims had traveled to Colombia.

The president’s announcement of the deaths came after the Mexican Embassy in Colombia reported last week that Mario Alberto Zapata and Brenda Eloísa Flores, a married couple from the state of Durango, were missing. The couple was at the Hotel Dibeni in the city of Pereira when the earthquake struck last Monday morning. The hotel collapsed in the quake, the most powerful temblor in Colombia this century.