MEPs Approve Opinion on EU Digital Age Limits
On 26 February, MEPs approved an opinion addressing how social media and the online environment affect young people. The text proposes measures to strengthen the protection of minors online, clarify platform responsibilities and improve enforcement across the EU. It also supports setting a common European age limit for social media, whereby young people would need to be at least 16 to use these platforms, unless authorised by parents, while access would not be allowed for children under 13.
The opinion promotes effective and privacy-friendly age verification across the European Union and calls for stronger and more consistent enforcement of existing laws protecting children online.
The text asks the European Commission to introduce stronger rules to better protect children online through a future law called the Digital Fairness Act. It suggests that common online practices -- such as targeted advertising, influencer promotions, addictive design features, loot boxes, virtual currencies in video games and misleading website designs -- should be covered by these new rules. The aim is to close gaps in existing laws, while avoiding unnecessary regulatory complexity for businesses.
Artificial intelligence tools have also been addressed. The opinion highlights risks such as misinformation, manipulation and emotional dependency, and calls for strict safeguards.
The opinion was prepared by IMCO for a report led by CULT, the Committee on Culture and Education.