Government weighs adding smartwatches to Danish school phone ban

Smartwatches could be included in the Danish government’s proposed ban on smartphones in public schools, DR reports. The watches can display notifications, receive calls and often provide access to TikTok, Messenger and Instagram.

The government has made clear that phones must leave schools. Students would hand them in at the start of the school day, Education Minister Magnus Heunicke said at a press conference on Thursday.

But it remains unclear whether students must also remove smartwatches.

“It is not only the phone that distracts them. Now it is also a watch,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Friday during a visit to Filstedvejens School in Aalborg, where she spoke with students and teachers.

Asked whether smartwatches would be covered by the proposed total ban, Frederiksen said: “That is at least what the teachers here are saying. We will have to find out.”

She again stressed her concerns about children’s screen use, saying: “The crucial thing is that we understand how much harm it does to our children.”

The government’s proposal has previously faced criticism for addressing an issue that many schools have already dealt with through existing mobile phone bans.