The European Union is set to unveil its strategy for protecting minors online — yet suggestions to limit their access to social media and implement age verification measures have faced criticism from child advocacy organizations and privacy advocates.
EU leader Ursula von der Leyen is expected to detail how the 27-member union intends to restrict children's social media usage in a much-awaited address to the European Parliament next week.
Von der Leyen is considering social media limitations for children under 13, as suggested by an expert group, or under 15, as proposed by France.
Her announcement will come after over a year of pressure from several EU countries, such as Denmark and Greece, and follows Australia's pioneering ban set for December 2025. Nations such as Britain adopted Canberra's approach.
Critics of social media have highlighted an increasing amount of evidence demonstrating the detrimental impact of these platforms on the mental and physical well-being of children.
Regardless of what the EU chooses to implement, the actions will be paired with the introduction of an age-verification system later this year to guarantee that the limitations are effective.
However, Brussels encounters backlash from multiple quarters regarding the proposals: advocates for children's rights worry that restrictions on social media will violate the liberties of young people, while digital rights advocates express worries about age verification measures.
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Christian Cirhigiri from the Centre for Democracy and Technology (CDT) Europe stated that regulation should concentrate on platforms to safeguard children's fundamental rights rather than restricting their access to online participation.
Civil society organizations, along with children's rights advocates, fear the repercussions of restricting access, claiming it might rob youth of social ties and resources that aid their growth.
Restrictions "would infringe upon their rights to free expression and access to information, which are crucial rights protected by the UN Charter," Cirhigiri stated to AFP.
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Around 132 rights and mental health organizations and experts also resist a universal ban, and in a letter to von der Leyen sent to AFP, they called on the EU to compel Big Tech to improve platform safety.
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The EU has already utilized its strongest legal tool, an online content regulation known as the Digital Services Act, to instruct Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok this year to alter their "addictive" designs.