Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has sparked a debate after comparing children’s use of social media to smoking. While speaking about online safety and the risks associated with social media for young people, Frederiksen said that she would rather have her kids smoking than using social media. While the Danish leader made the remark earlier this month at a conference on artificial intelligence and child safety, they have surfaced now on social media, going viral.“If I had small kids today, I would rather have them smoking than allowing them to stay on their own on social media. But I am acting prime minister, so I will not say that,” Frederiksen said.She added, “There’s something wrong with us... We still look into old threats, but there’s a new one, and it’s much more present.”This comes as Denmark moves to ban social media use for children under 15, while teens aged 13 and 14 would be allowed to access it only with parental permission. The rules could take effect as early as next year.Speaking in the Danish Parliament last year on October 7, Frederiksen said “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: we’ve been too naive. We’ve left children’s digital lives to platforms that never had their wellbeing in mind. We must move from digital captivity to community.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Denmark’s PM Mette Frederiksen: If I had small kids today, I would rather have them smoking than allowing them to stay on their own on social media. But I am acting prime minister, so I will not say that. <a href="https://t.co/I3oSu0UDgk">pic.twitter.com/I3oSu0UDgk</a>&mdash; Clash Report (@clashreport) <a href="https://x.com/clashreport/status/2061163473933844907?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 31, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<h2>Social media reacts</h2>Frederiksen’s viral remarks sparked controversy as many criticised her for comparing social media to smoke, something which can be gravely harmful for health. Some people also backed her remarks, supporting the social media ban for teens across Europe.“That is absolutely absurd. Social media is a mix of good and bad. You can make it 100% good if you want to (profile curation). The bad parts can be a learning experience in standing up for yourself…,” a user said. “Smoking, on the other hand, is a destructive addiction. Much, much worse.”Another suggested, “Maybe the example wasn’t good but she isn’t wrong. Social media is really terrible for kids.” A person said, “I get the negative effects of social media but the comparison with smoking isn't a good one.”“Information is only a threat if you are threatened by the freedom to know, the issue has never been social media it was fine before engagement algorithms backed a base part of the business model. Eliminate the algorithms, you solve the problem. You don’t need to ban social media for teens and younger children who on the whole benefit more from increased connectedness. Especially the isolated ones,” one user wrote. “You could also actually use existing laws for bullying, harassment and child predators without imposing massive new surveillance methods.”“The timing of this together with the EU trying to further censor social media is disturbing,” another user commented.“It’s taken out of context. She was just trying to express how bad screen time is,” a person said, defending her.<h2>Frederiksen apologies</h2>According to a Sweden Herald report, Frederiksen apologised after her remarks triggered a backlash.“Clearly children and young people should not smoke. Just as children should not be alone on platforms, where they risk seeing harmful images, being offered drugs, being groomed or blackmailed over intimate images. Yesterday I wanted to provoke us adults to understand how vulnerable our children are on screens,” she wrote in a Facebook post.&nbsp;

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen sparked controversy by saying she’d rather her children smoke than use social media unsupervised, as Denmark pushes to ban social media for under-15s.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has sparked a debate after comparing children’s use of social media to smoking. While speaking about online safety and the risks associated with social media for young people, Frederiksen said that she would rather have her kids smoking than using social media. While the Danish leader made the remark earlier this month at a conference on artificial intelligence and child safety, they have surfaced now on social media, going viral. “If I had small kids today, I would rather have them smoking than allowing them to stay on their own on social media. But I am acting prime minister, so I will not say that,” Frederiksen said. She added, “There’s something wrong with us... We still look into old threats, but there’s a new one, and it’s much more present.” This comes as Denmark moves to ban social media use for children under 15, while teens aged 13 and 14 would be allowed to access it only with parental permission. The rules could take effect as early as next year. Speaking in the Danish Parliament last year on October 7, Frederiksen said “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: we’ve been too naive. We’ve left children’s digital lives to platforms that never had their wellbeing in mind. We must move from digital captivity to community.”

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen sparked controversy by saying she’d rather her children smoke than use social media unsupervised, as Denmark pushes to ban social media for under-15s.

‘Would rather have kids smoke than stay on social media’: Danish PM’s remark goes viral, sparking debate

In a move to underline the revolutionary aspects and risks of artificial intelligence, Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, on Wednesday, delivered a speech to parliament that was partly written by the AI chatbot ChatGPT.

"What I have just read here is not from me. Or any other human for that matter,"&nbsp; Frederiksen suddenly said part-way into her speech to legislators, explaining it was written by ChatGPT.&nbsp;

"Even if it didn't always hit the nail on the head, both in terms of the details of the government's work programme and punctuation... it is both fascinating and terrifying what it is capable of,"&nbsp;the leader added.

The part of Frederiksen's speech framed by ChatGPT contained sentences like: "It has been an honour and a challenge to lead a broad government in the last parliamentary year."

"We have worked hard to co-operate across parties and ensure a strong and sustainable future for Denmark," and "We have taken steps to combat climate change and ensure a fairer and more inclusive society where all citizens have equal opportunities," were the other sentences written by ChatGPT.

"Although we have faced challenges and resistance along the way, I am proud of what we have achieved together in the last parliamentary year."

<h2>EU, US to release draft code of conduct on AI ‘within weeks’</h2>

European Union and the United States on Wednesday said they expect a draft code of conduct on Artificial Intelligence (AI) might be released “within weeks”, adding that they are hopeful fellow democracies and like-minded nations will subscribe to it.&nbsp;

The voluntary code “would be open to all like-minded countries,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said after having discussions with EU officials in Sweden.

“There’s almost always a gap when new technologies emerge,” Blinken said, adding that there was time “for governments and institutions to figure out how to legislate or regulate.”

European Commission Vice President and tech chief Margrethe Vestager said the draft could be drawn up within weeks. She said, “We think it’s really important that citizens can see that democracies can deliver.” She voiced hope “to do that in the broadest possible circle, with our friends in Canada, in the UK, in Japan, in India, bringing as many onboard as possible.”

<h2>ChatGPT-maker OpenAI cites ‘existential threat’ in call for AI regulation</h2>

Asserting that an International Atomic Energy Agency equivalent would be required to safeguard humanity from the risks posed by fast-developing Artificial Intelligence, the makers of ChatGPT — OpenAI, have called for the regulation of 'superintelligent' AIs.

OpenAI co-founders Greg Brockman, Ilya Sutskever and the chief executive, Sam Altman, in a note published on the company's website, asked for an international regulator to begin working on ways to “inspect systems, require audits, test for compliance with safety standards, and place restrictions on degrees of deployment and levels of security” in order to reduce the “existential risk” such systems could pose.

“It’s conceivable that within the next 10 years, AI systems will exceed expert skill level in most domains, and carry out as much productive activity as one of today’s largest corporations,” the note read.&nbsp;

“In terms of both potential upsides and downsides, superintelligence will be more powerful than other technologies humanity has had to contend with in the past. We can have a dramatically more prosperous future, but we have to manage risk to get there. Given the possibility of existential risk, we can’t just be reactive.”&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

&nbsp;

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

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In a move to underline the revolutionary aspects and risks of artificial intelligence, Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, on Wednesday, delivered a speech to parliament that was partly written by the AI chatbot ChatGPT.

In a move to underline the revolutionary aspects and risks of artificial intelligence, Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, on Wednesday, delivered a speech to parliament that was partly written by the AI chatbot ChatGPT. "What I have just read here is not from me. Or any other human for that matter," Frederiksen suddenly said part-way into her speech to legislators, explaining it was written by ChatGPT. "Even if it didn't always hit the nail on the head, both in terms of the details of the government's work programme and punctuation... it is both fascinating and terrifying what it is capable of," the leader added. The part of Frederiksen's speech framed by ChatGPT contained sentences like: "It has been an honour and a challenge to lead a broad government in the last parliamentary year." "We have worked hard to co-operate across parties and ensure a strong and sustainable future for Denmark," and "We have taken steps to combat climate change and ensure a fairer and more inclusive society where all citizens have equal opportunities," were the other sentences written by ChatGPT. "Although we have faced challenges and resistance along the way, I am proud of what we have achieved together in the last parliamentary year." EU, US to release draft code of conduct on AI ‘within weeks’ European Union and the United States on Wednesday said they expect a draft code of conduct on Artificial Intelligence (AI) might be released “within weeks”, adding that they are hopeful fellow democracies and like-minded nations will subscribe to it. The voluntary code “would be open to all like-minded countries,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said after having discussions with EU officials in Sweden. “There’s almost always a gap when new technologies emerge,” Blinken said, adding that there was time “for governments and institutions to figure out how to legislate or regulate.” European Commission Vice President and tech chief Margrethe Vestager said the draft could be drawn up within weeks. She said, “We think it’s really important that citizens can see that democracies can deliver.” She voiced hope “to do that in the broadest possible circle, with our friends in Canada, in the UK, in Japan, in India, bringing as many onboard as possible.” ChatGPT-maker OpenAI cites ‘existential threat’ in call for AI regulation Asserting that an International Atomic Energy Agency equivalent would be required to safeguard humanity from the risks posed by fast-developing Artificial Intelligence, the makers of ChatGPT — OpenAI, have called for the regulation of 'superintelligent' AIs. OpenAI co-founders Greg Brockman, Ilya Sutskever and the chief executive, Sam Altman, in a note published on the company's website, asked for an international regulator to begin working on ways to “inspect systems, require audits, test for compliance with safety standards, and place restrictions on degrees of deployment and levels of security” in order to reduce the “existential risk” such systems could pose. “It’s conceivable that within the next 10 years, AI systems will exceed expert skill level in most domains, and carry out as much productive activity as one of today’s largest corporations,” the note read. “In terms of both potential upsides and downsides, superintelligence will be more powerful than other technologies humanity has had to contend with in the past. We can have a dramatically more prosperous future, but we have to manage risk to get there. Given the possibility of existential risk, we can’t just be reactive.” (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen delivers speech partly written by ChatGPT

Denmark is all set to join the European Union's defence policy following a referendum that reflects a shift in the security stance among the Nordic countries in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The referendum, which took place on Wednesday, saw people voting heavily in favour of the government’s proposal by 66.9 per cent to 33.1 per cent.

Denmark is the third Nordic country to shed its neutral status after its neighbours Finland and Sweden applies to join NATO last month.

Participation in the defence policy will allow Denmark, a founding NATO member, to take part in joint EU military operations, such as those in Bosnia, Mali and Somalia, and will allow Danish officials to stay in the room when EU colleagues discuss defence issues.

“When a freedom threat knocks on Europe's door and there is once again a war on our continent, then we cannot remain neutral. We support Ukraine and the people of Ukraine," Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a speech on Wednesday evening, following the result, according to Reuters.

"Tonight, Denmark has sent a very important message. To our allies, to NATO, to Europe, and we have sent a clear message to Putin."

Denmark, historically critical of the EU, had been the only member of the 27 nation bloc not part of its Common Security and Defence Policy.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/russia-advances-on-severodonetsk-forces-fight-on-streets-484280" hreflang="en">Russia advances on Severodonetsk, troops fight in streets</a>

The Scandinavian nation of nearly 6 million secured exemptions to that policy in a 1993 referendum on the Maastricht Treaty, which laid the groundwork for the modern EU.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/russia-says-us-sending-rocket-systems-to-ukraine-will-increase-risk-of-direct-confrontation-484296" hreflang="en">Russia says US sending rocket systems to Ukraine will increase risk of direct confrontation</a>

The Danish PM called for the referendum barely two weeks after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, following reaching an agreement with a majority of parties in the parliament.

Apart from that, the Scandinavian country also pledged to increase its defence spending to 2 per cent of GDP, in line with NATO membership requirements, by 2033.

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

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Denmark is all set to join the European Union's defence policy following a referendum that reflects a shift in the security stance among the Nordic countries in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Denmark is all set to join the European Union's defence policy following a referendum that reflects a shift in the security stance among the Nordic countries in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The referendum, which took place on Wednesday, saw people voting heavily in favour of the government’s proposal by 66.9 per cent to 33.1 per cent. Denmark is the third Nordic country to shed its neutral status after its neighbours Finland and Sweden applies to join NATO last month. Participation in the defence policy will allow Denmark, a founding NATO member, to take part in joint EU military operations, such as those in Bosnia, Mali and Somalia, and will allow Danish officials to stay in the room when EU colleagues discuss defence issues. “When a freedom threat knocks on Europe's door and there is once again a war on our continent, then we cannot remain neutral. We support Ukraine and the people of Ukraine," Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a speech on Wednesday evening, following the result, according to Reuters. "Tonight, Denmark has sent a very important message. To our allies, to NATO, to Europe, and we have sent a clear message to Putin." Denmark, historically critical of the EU, had been the only member of the 27 nation bloc not part of its Common Security and Defence Policy. Also read | Russia advances on Severodonetsk, troops fight in streets The Scandinavian nation of nearly 6 million secured exemptions to that policy in a 1993 referendum on the Maastricht Treaty, which laid the groundwork for the modern EU. Also read | Russia says US sending rocket systems to Ukraine will increase risk of direct confrontation The Danish PM called for the referendum barely two weeks after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, following reaching an agreement with a majority of parties in the parliament. Apart from that, the Scandinavian country also pledged to increase its defence spending to 2 per cent of GDP, in line with NATO membership requirements, by 2033. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Russia-Ukraine war: Denmark all set to join EU’s common defence policy after historic vote

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his day 2 of three-nation Europe trip. PM Modi held delegation-level talks with his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen in Copenhagen. The two leaders also took part in bilateral engagements ahead of the India-Nordic summit.

PM Modi Europe Visit: Indian PM & Danish PM take part in bilateral engagements ahead of India-Nordic summit

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen broke down in front of reporters when she was asked to comment on the impact of culling of minks. She visited a mink farmer who lost his herd following the government’s order this month to cull all 17 million mink in the country to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Danish PM breaks down over mink culling

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‘Would rather have kids smoke than stay on social media’: Danish PM’s remark goes viral, sparking debate

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen delivers speech partly written by ChatGPT

Russia-Ukraine war: Denmark all set to join EU’s common defence policy after historic vote

PM Modi Europe Visit: Indian PM & Danish PM take part in bilateral engagements ahead of India-Nordic summit

Danish PM breaks down over mink culling