EU's Initiative to Limit Children's Access to Social Media

The European Union is launching a bold initiative aimed at limiting children's access to social media. This proposal, led by Greece with support from France and Spain, seeks to implement new regulations that would prevent minors from using platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat without parental consent. This has been reported by Politico.

The plan includes establishing a uniform "digital consent age" across the EU, below which children would not be allowed to engage with social media without permission. This initiative is expected to be discussed by EU digital policy ministers in early June. Denmark, which will soon hold the EU Council presidency, has already stated that protecting children online will be one of its priorities. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has previously backed the idea of banning social media for children under 15.

This initiative has emerged amid growing concerns over children's excessive use of social media and the negative effects of online content. French President Emmanuel Macron has been advocating for this initiative for months, believing that children under 15 should be shielded from certain forms of online behavior. Last year, France passed a law restricting access to social media for children under 15, but its full implementation is still pending.

The initiative proposes mandatory age verification at the device level, along with new European standards to limit user-engaging features in apps—such as auto-play videos, content personalization, and pop-ups. This may face opposition from companies like Apple and Google, who prefer not to have control exerted at the device level. Conversely, Meta supports age verification at the app or store level.

Initiators emphasize that protecting children from digital risks requires collective action across the EU. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis highlighted that an outright ban is ineffective and that focus should be on age verification and adapting services to children's needs. France, Spain, and Greece are also set to test a special age verification app developed by the European Commission.

Interestingly, the issue of limiting children's access to social media is gaining resonance globally—especially after Australia announced plans to introduce a minimum age of 16 for creating accounts on several social media platforms starting in 2024.