Mexico to propose bill to restrict violent social media content after school attack

Mexico president Claudia Sheinbaum on Friday said her government is expected to pass a bill next week requiring social media companies to remove content that encourages violence.This follows Thursday's horrific attack at a school in Mexico's northern Coahuila state, which left a deputy principal dead and four people hospitalised. The perpetrators were reportedly 18 years old and were taken into custody immediately."The goal is for digital platforms to take on some of the responsibility and refrain from disseminating, promoting, or spreading content related to this type of information — including criminal acts or violent behavior," Sheinbaum stated in her daily news conference.The government would look for a bill, regulation, or other legislative framework that would mandate compliance from all social media sites, she said.Sheinbaum said the proposal is aimed top protect young people in Mexico from exposure to violence, while adding that authorities remain willing to engage in dialogue with the platforms, as per the reuters.The European Union, Australia, and the United Kingdom are among the nations that have enacted legislation mandating social media companies to take down violent content.Brazil has taken the strongest step in Latin America, with its Supreme Court ruling in 2025 that social media platforms must remove content that encourages violence. Meanwhile, lawmakers in Argentina, Chile and Costa Rica are weighing legislation that would limit children's access to social media and oblige platforms to restrict harmful material, including sexual or violent content targeting minors.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.