social media<\/a> platforms, video-sharing sites, and AI companions. Children aged 13 to 16 would still be permitted access with parental consent. An outright ban would apply to all minors under 13.<\/p>\nThe resolution draws urgent attention to growing concerns about social media\u2019s impact on young users. Research cited in the report indicates that one in four minors displays \u201cproblematic\u201d or \u201cdysfunctional\u201d smartphone use resembling addiction patterns. Studies show 97% of young people go online daily, with 78% of teenagers checking devices at least hourly.<\/p>\n
Parliament members also called for banning engagement-based recommendation algorithms for minors and eliminating addictive design features. These include infinite scrolling, auto-play videos, excessive push notifications, and reward systems for repeated platform use.<\/p>\n
The measure seeks to address what lawmakers describe as manipulative design features inherent to social media business models. The resolution notes that such features undermine children\u2019s well-being, concentration, and sleep patterns.<\/p>\n
Several EU countries have already implemented age restrictions. France requires parental consent for under-15s opening social media accounts, though enforcement has faced technical challenges. Germany permits social media use for children aged 13-16 only with parental approval. Italy mandates parental permission for users under 14.<\/p>\n
Belgium established a minimum age of 13 for account creation without parental permission in 2018. Norway proposed raising its age of consent from 13 to 15 in October 2024. Denmark\u2019s government recently agreed to implement a 15-year minimum age requirement for certain platforms.<\/p>\n
\u2018Our digital laws are not for sale\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n
The European Commission has not indicated whether it will pursue formal legislation based on Parliament\u2019s resolution. Any future law would require a full Commission proposal followed by negotiations with EU governments and Parliament.<\/p>\n
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced plans to establish an expert panel by year-end to advise on protecting children online. She has criticized \u201calgorithms that prey on children\u2019s vulnerabilities with the explicit purpose of creating addictions.\u201d<\/p>\n
The resolution draws inspiration from Australia\u2019s world-first social media ban for users under 16, which takes effect on December 10. Violations can trigger fines up to AUD 49.5 million (around $32 million). The EU is studying Australia\u2019s implementation approach.<\/p>\n
Parliament also called for personal liability for tech executives like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk in cases of serious non-compliance with EU minor protection rules. The measure would strengthen enforcement of existing digital regulations.<\/p>\n
The vote comes amid broader EU debates about tech regulation. Some critics argue the proposal exceeds EU authority over member state competencies. \u201cDecisions about children\u2019s access must be taken as close to families as possible \u2013 in the member states, not in Brussels,\u201d said Polish MEP Kosma Z\u0142otowski.<\/p>\n
French MEP St\u00e9phanie Yon-Courtin defended the initiative against US pressure to soften EU digital rules. \u201cOur digital laws are not for sale. We will not back down on children\u2019s protections because a foreign billionaire or big tech tells us to,\u201d she stated.<\/p>\n
The resolution supports developing EU age verification systems while emphasizing that platforms remain responsible for ensuring age-appropriate service design. According to 2025 Eurobarometer data, over 90% of Europeans consider protecting children online an urgent priority.<\/p>\n
Most major platforms, including TikTok, Facebook, and Snapchat, currently require users to be at least 13. Child protection groups argue these safeguards remain inadequate, with large numbers of under-13s maintaining accounts across European countries.<\/p>\n
Read also: <\/b>Morocco\u2019s New Social Media Law: HACA to Expand Authority Under Bensaid\u2019s Plan<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Marrakech \u2013 The European Parliament voted Wednesday to support stricter age restrictions on social media platforms, calling for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":597797,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5174],"tags":[2000,299,5187,20730,182],"class_list":{"0":"post-597796","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-eu","8":"tag-eu","9":"tag-europe","10":"tag-european","11":"tag-european-parliament","12":"tag-social-media"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115623478401504338","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/597796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=597796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/597796\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/597797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=597796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=597796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=597796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}