In her speech, von der Leyen only presented some of the principles of the new “Kids Act,” and the draft law itself is due to be presented in Brussels on Thursday. The EU Parliament and the member states must then deal with it. It could take months or even years before an agreement is reached and a minimum age is actually introduced.
What is the EU Commission proposing?
According to von der Leyen's plans, own accounts on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram and Co. should be completely taboo for children under 13. However, the major platforms already stipulate a minimum age of 13 in their terms and conditions. However, regulators in Brussels have repeatedly criticized the fact that this age limit is not being properly enforced. That should change with the new requirements.
The burden of proof should be reversed, said von der Leyen: “The platforms have to prove that they are safe. It's not about our minors accessing social media. It's about when and to what extent we allow social media access to minors.«
According to von der Leyen's idea, young people from the age of 13 will be allowed to do a little more in the future: they should then be able to use "mini accounts" that are set up and supervised by their parents, with limited functions and time restrictions. Here, too, there are already existing initiatives by social media operators, such as the “teen accounts” on Instagram and the time restrictions on TikTok.
Young people aged 15 and over should then be able to access social media and have their own accounts - if the design is secure. The EU Commission understands “safety by design” to mean that social media platforms do not use algorithms that promote addiction, and functions such as endless scrolling or the automatic playing of videos should therefore be deactivated. Such requirements are also the subject of another planned EU law, the “Digital Fairness Act,” which is also intended to protect adults from design tricks.
Germany must adhere to guidelines
The EU plans are also crucial for the German debate about a social media ban. The Brussels authority has a prerogative in parts of digital policy. In principle, Germany is allowed to pass its own laws determining the age from which social media is permitted, but it must adhere to the requirements from Brussels.
The technical and organizational design of age controls is a particular challenge. In the highly publicized initiative in Australia, the officially specified authentication mechanisms proved to be largely ineffective in practice. Although the operators have shut down millions of accounts, in practice, according to initial investigations, young people do not have any major problems in continuing to be active on the platforms.
The plan is for users to prove a certain minimum age without saving personal data such as name or date of birth or passing it on to the major online platforms. If the law comes as planned, all users of popular online offerings would probably have to regularly verify their age in this way.
Another challenge is the rights of children and young people themselves. A broad ban in France was stopped because it had restricted young people's social participation too far.
What is the federal government planning?
Federal Education Minister Karin Prien (CDU) has spoken out in favor of a social media ban for children under 13. She had set up a commission of experts that presented extensive proposals for better protection of children and young people in the digital world in the summer. This is about the option of a “legal minimum age limit of 13 years” for the independent use of social media accounts. Prien also spoke out in favor of “graded protection concepts” when using TikTok, Instagram and Co. for young people between the ages of 13 and 18.
