Brazil introduces law restricting smartphone use in schools amid concern over the impact on learning Brazilian students returned to class this week with a new task: staying away from their smartphones as a new law restricting their use in schools takes effect.
China moved last year to limit children’s use of smartphones, while France has in place a ban on smartphones in schools for kids aged six to 15.
Cell phone bans have gained traction across the United States, where eight states have passed laws or policies that ban or restrict cellphone use to try to curb student phone access and minimize distractions in classrooms.
A survey released in October by Brazilian pollster Datafolha said that almost two-thirds of respondents wanted to ban smartphone use by children and teenagers at schools.
Before the federal law, most of Brazil's 26 states - including Rio de Janeiro, Maranhao and Goias - had already passed measures applying some restrictions to phone use in schools.
