Enhedslisten has proposed making it a criminal offense in Denmark for social media platforms to spread harmful content about suicide, self-harm and eating disorders. Digitalisation Minister Christina Egelund says similar ideas are already being discussed in her ministry.
According to reporting by DR on September 17, the proposal comes from Enhedslisten’s media spokesperson, Leila Stockmarr. Platforms in Denmark are currently not legally obliged to take down content defined as harmful.
Under the proposal, a Danish court could put a company such as Meta on trial for failing to delete depressive content on Instagram and Facebook. Stockmarr told DR that criminalization is the step no one has taken in national law. The party also proposes a so-called tech ombudsman to enforce the rules.
Code words and emojis
Ask Hesby Holm, director of the organization Digitalt Ansvar, told DR that animal emojis are used as signals for self-harm. Per his account, they can indicate cutting, burning oneself or feeling overweight. A gravestone stands for suicide and an elephant for being fat.
Holm said Digitalt Ansvar has lost count of how often it has reported harmful content that was never removed. He described an earlier experiment on TikTok, where the group created a profile posing as a 13 year old. Within 20 minutes of liking depressive posts, the feed was filled with similar material, including self-harm content.
As reported by DR, Holm argues that code words give platforms something concrete to search for. Asked whether users would simply invent new symbols, he said language depends on how widely it spreads. His assessment is that the volume would be significantly reduced.
Government signals openness
In Politiken, Egelund said comparable ideas have already been raised inside the Ministry of Digitalisation, including whether harmful content can be outlawed. Stockmarr told DR she reads this as a sign that a majority exists for the measure.
DR notes that the EU tightened requirements in 2022 with the Digital Services Act, which obliges platforms to report removals and complaints. A Digitalt Ansvar study published in June found that Meta cut moderation on Instagram by 74 percent during 2025. The same study found that Snapchat was the slowest platform to react to harmful content.
DR states that it contacted Meta about the criticism and the study, and that the company had not responded. DR also notes that there is a majority in the Danish parliament for a 15 year age limit on social media.
