EU wants to legally restrict social media access for minors

Strasbourg, Düsseldorf, Paris. Australia has shown the way, now the EU is following suit: The EU wants to legally restrict children and young people's access to social media. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) announced this on Wednesday in her State of the Union speech in Strasbourg. She wants to present a corresponding law as early as Thursday.

Specifically, young people under the age of 13 should not be allowed to use social media. Young people should only be allowed to set up their own accounts when they are 15 years old. In the meantime, young people should be allowed to use special youth accounts to be introduced to social media under the supervision of parents or teaching staff. The use should also be limited in time.

According to research, young people spend an average of four to six hours a day on social networks. Many are also active at night. This is particularly dangerous for teenagers because their brains are not yet fully developed.

In recent months, the EU Commission has already presented an app that can be linked to social media platforms to verify the age of users. It is intended to protect the privacy of young people.

So only an age range is passed on to the platforms without mentioning the exact age. Based on the technical basis provided by the EU, all member states can now develop and use a country-specific app.

At the same time, von der Leyen makes an announcement to Big Tech: “I am aware that for many people the power of Big Tech is almost overwhelming,” said von der Leyen. "Impossible to fight it. I see it differently." Platform operators are not relieved of their obligations by the age limit. You still have to comply with the requirements of the Digital Services Act, which is intended to make the platforms more secure. “We don’t have to accept functions that are addictive,” said von der Leyen.