Mobile phone ban in Zagreb schools show promising results – nationwide law in the works

ZAGREB, 28 October 2025 (Hina) – Following the City of Zagreb’s recommendation earlier this school year, one hundred primary schools in the capital have introduced a ban on mobile phones, while others are preparing to follow.

According to schools, the results have been overwhelmingly positive, pupils are interacting more, showing better concentration, and incidents of online bullying have decreased, Deputy Mayor Danijela Dolenac said on Monday.

“Most children quickly adapted to the new rules,” Dolenac explained at a press conference. “Teachers say classrooms are now noisier, but in a positive way, because pupils are looking at each other instead of their screens.”

The city launched the recommendation at the start of the school year, and a survey conducted on 27 October assessed its implementation.

Dolenac highlighted three key benefits: improved social interaction among pupils, better quality of lessons and academic performance, and a reduction in digital peer violence.

She described the move as “an important step”, while noting that it “does not solve the entire problem” of children’s exposure to digital risks.

Možemo! Presents Proposal for National Law on Digital Protection of Children

Member of Parliament Ivana Kekin, from the green-left party Možemo!, has introduced a Draft Law on the Digital Protection of Children, aiming to regulate mobile phone use in primary schools across Croatia.

Under the proposal, pupils would still be allowed to bring their phones to school but would have to switch them off and store them safely upon arrival. Exceptions would be made only for medical reasons. The goal, Kekin explained, is not a ban for its own sake but to “create conditions for learning, conversation and socialisation instead of staring at screens.”

The draft law also includes several broader measures:

• Filtered school networks that block access to social media and non-educational websites on school Wi-Fi.

• Mandatory age verification and parental consent for children under 15 to open social media profiles, requiring platforms to use privacy-friendly verification systems that do not collect personal data or documents.

• Clearer mechanisms for preventing and responding to online violence, including obligations for platforms to display anti-bullying messages, offer simple reporting tools, and promptly remove harmful content. The state would provide education and psychological support for pupils, parents and teachers.

Kekin stressed the urgency of protecting children from the influence of social media algorithms.

“Children aged between nine and fifteen spend more than three hours a day on screens and social media. Over 70 percent of upper primary pupils in Croatia are online for more than three hours daily, a third experience online violence at least once a month, and a quarter admit to being perpetrators themselves,” she said.

“These statistics are devastating. Until now, Croatia has had no law to protect children in the digital space,” she added.

Kekin concluded by saying: “The digital world must not be a Wild West of childhood, but a place for healthy development, creativity and connection, as long as we set clear rules that protect what matters most: children’s focus, self-respect and mental health.”