EU expert panel: “Restrictions on social media should apply to under-13s”

A harmonised restriction at European level on access to social media and other digital services for children under the age of 13, with limited use permitted only under parental supervision or for educational purposes, and the option for Member States to introduce stricter limits even for teenagers over the age of 13. This is one of the key recommendations contained in the report by the special panel on child safety online set up by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, which proposes a phased approach to the use of digital platforms based on children’s age and level of development.

According to the experts who drafted the document, providers of social media and other digital services that pose risks to children and adolescents should demonstrate that their platforms are “safe by design” before granting access to minors. Until then, the panel recommends a harmonised EU-wide restriction for under-13s, accompanied by effective age verification systems that protect privacy and personal data, as well as common rules against features considered potentially addictive, such as infinite scrolling, autoplay and recommendation algorithms.

The report, entitled “Child safety online”, argues that children and teenagers should be able to benefit from the opportunities offered by the digital world, but in environments designed to be safe and age-appropriate. To this end, it proposes a phased approach: no exposure to social media between the ages of 0 and 2, strictly supervised use from 3 to 12 years of age, and progressively independent access – but only to services that are ‘safe by default’ – between the ages of 13 and 18. Other recommendations include strengthening platforms’ obligations to prevent and combat online sexual abuse, granting researchers greater access to platform data to assess systemic risks, enhancing digital education and media literacy in schools, support for offline activities for children and adolescents, and greater involvement of children and young people in shaping online safety policies.

The panel also emphasises that the primary responsibility for children’s online safety must lie with digital service providers, rather than with families or regulators. The aim, the authors point out, is to ensure that children’s rights are protected in the digital environment too, striking a balance between protection, participation and access to the opportunities offered by new technologies.