Baku, September 12, AZERTAC

Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara said Tuesday that he agreed with an appeal launched by education expert Daniele Novara and psychotherapist Alberto Pellai for under-14s to be banned from owning cell phones and for under-16s to be prevented from having social-media profiles, according to ANSA.

Valditara has already banned pupils from being able to use smartphones in class in elementary and middle schools in Italy, even if it is for educational reasons.

Several prominent Italian figures, including actors Paola Cortellesi, Alba Rohrwacher, Stefano Accorsi and Luca Zingaretti, have signed Novara and Pellai's petition on Change.org.

"The appeal goes in the direction that I have strongly supported and turned into reality with the ban on the use of mobile phones up to the age of 14 in Italian schools," Valditara told ANSA.

"This is a position that is increasingly shared internationally.

The damage caused by the early use of mobile phones and social networks is now evident to everyone".