European Parliament Proposes Social Media Limitations for Children Under Sixteen

During a plenary session, the Eurodeputs approved an illegal report with 483 votes pro, 92 against and 86 abstentions, calling for ambitious actions to protect minors online.

According to the European Parliament's announcement, the Eurodeputs demanded the 16-year minimum age of the entire EU and the ban on the most harmful practices that create dependence”.

“To help parents manage their children's digital presence and ensure online commitment appropriate to age, parliament proposes a 16-year-old minimum digital age harmonised in the EU for access to social media, video sharing platforms and artificial intelligence associates, while simultaneously allowing access to 13-16s with the consent of parents”, the report says.

The Eurodeputs called for stopping platforms that do not comply with EU regulations, taking measures against convincing technologies, such as targeted advertising and marketing influencers, protecting minors from commercial exploitation, and addressing the urgent challenges of ethics and legal challenges presented by artificial intelligence generation tools, including deepfakes and accompanying chatbots.