First step for temporary social media ban on children under 13 from Germany

In the statement made by the Ministry of Education, Family, Elderly, Women and Youth, it was stated that the Council of Ministers accepted the main principles regarding the social media ban on children.

The adopted principles are not yet a concrete bill, but are the government's official statement of intent on this issue.

The strategy document presented by the Minister of Education, Family, Elderly, Women and Youth Karin Prien is based on the 56-item recommendations of the expert commission on "Protection of Children and Young People in the Digital World".

According to the determined road map, children under the age of 13 will be prevented from accessing platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram. With the planned temporary regulation, children under the age of 13 will be generally prohibited from using social networks; Only content proven to be pedagogically appropriate will be excluded from this ban.

"Mini account" period will begin for young people

Gradual restrictions will be put into effect for those between the ages of 13 and 18.

According to this model, which is compatible with the "EU Kids Act" plans presented by the European Commission in September, young people between the ages of 13 and 18 will only be able to access social media through "mini accounts" established and supervised by their parents. The functions of these accounts will be limited and the daily usage time will be limited to one hour.

In her assessment of the issue, Minister of Education, Family, Elderly, Women and Youth, Karin Prien, emphasized that they have laid the necessary foundations for the protection, empowerment and participation of children in the digital world, and said, "The Internet is a part of the daily life of young people, our goal is not to exclude them from the digital world, but to make them resistant to risks such as cyber bullying and incessant scrolling. We resolutely hold platform operators responsible and empower parents. Parents are the ones who raise children, we cannot leave this task to the algorithms of companies." he said.

Anticipating that it may take a long time for the European Parliament and member states to agree on a common EU-wide minimum age limit proposal, Germany aims to speed up the process with this temporary national step.

The exact date when the restrictions will come into force will be determined after the draft law is finalized.