Social media EU countries want to ban Tiktok, Insta and co. for children
Several EU countries want to ban online networks such as Tiktok, Instagram and YouTube for children. At the meeting of EU digital ministers in Luxembourg on Friday, France, Greece and Denmark advocated only allowing access to the platforms from the age of 15.
06.06.2025, 13:49
SDA
In addition, the age of users should be strictly monitored. Several EU member states called on the EU Commission to present EU-wide mandatory rules for this.
In theory, age restrictions already apply to online networks. Tiktok, Instagram, Snapchat and X (formerly Twitter), for example, are permitted from the age of 13 in the EU according to their terms of use, while YouTube and Tumblr are permitted from the age of 16. However, users only have to provide a date of birth when registering, there is no actual control.
Permission from parents
"We were all young once - it's very easy to change your date of birth," said French Digital Minister Clara Chappaz in Luxembourg. "On average, children create an account at the age of seven to eight," she explained. "That has to change."
France wants to oblige platforms to obtain parental consent for underage users. Paris had already passed a law for this in 2023, but has not yet received the necessary approval from Brussels. In addition to Greece and Denmark, Spain, Slovenia and Cyprus also joined the demands.
They point to the dangers for children online, from hate speech and bullying to extreme weight loss tips, pornography and the risk of addiction. Excessive screen time can exacerbate anxiety disorders and depression and impair children's ability to think critically, according to the EU countries' paper.
App for age verification
One problem with reliable age verification to date has been data protection. The EU Commission therefore wants to have an app developed that manages personal data securely and only passes on information to the platforms as to whether a user is old enough.
In future, EU citizens will also be able to download a digital ID card onto their smartphone. The device could then store the age and automatically block all apps that are only permitted for older people.
The EU Commission is already investigating several platforms, including Tiktok, Facebook parent company Meta and porn providers Youporn, Stripchat, XVideos and XNXX, for alleged shortcomings in the protection of children and young people. If the allegations from Brussels are confirmed, the companies could face heavy fines.
