The European Union is considering a new initiative aimed at limiting the access of minors to social networks. The leader of this project is Greece, which is supported by France and Spain. It is proposed to introduce European-wide rules that will prohibit children from using platforms such as TikTok, Instagram or Snapchat without parental permission. About this informsPolitician.
Among the key ideas is the establishment of a single age of digital adulthood for the entire EU, before reaching which a child will not be able to independently create an account in social networks. The issue is expected to be discussed by EU digital policy ministers in early June. Denmark, which will soon lead the EU Council, has already announced plans to make children’s online safety one of its top priorities. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen previously supported a ban on social media for children under the age of 15.
The initiative came about in response to growing concern about children’s overuse of social media and the impact of online content on their psyche. French President Emmanuel Macron has long supported the idea of restrictions, believing that children under 15 need special digital protection. In France, a corresponding law has already been adopted, which limits access to social networks for children under this age, although it has not yet entered into full force.
Among the proposed measures are mandatory age verification at the device level, as well as the establishment of European standards that will limit features that drag users into applications. In particular, we are talking about autoplay videos, personalized content and pop-ups. This is expected to lead to resistance from companies like Apple and Google, which do not support device-level controls. Instead, Meta advocates implementing age verification at the app or store level.
The initiators emphasize the need for joint actions within the entire EU to effectively protect children from digital risks. Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis noted that a complete ban is ineffective, and the main attention should be focused on age verification and adaptation of services to the needs of young users. France, Spain and Greece also plan to test a special age verification app developed by the European Commission.
