Social, in France off limits for the under-15s. Here is where we are in Italy

After the stop to social networking for the under 16s in Australia, European countries are also starting to adapt. Last November, the European Parliament passed a (non-binding) resolution to raise the minimum age for independent registration on social networking sites, video platforms and chatbots to 16, specifying that minors between 13 and 16 years of age are only allowed access with parental authorisation.

The latter possibility has also been proposed in Denmark, where a bill has been announced to prohibit access to social networking for children under the age of 15. This is the same minimum age approved by the French National Assembly in a bill that now has to go through the Senate. President Macron, in this regard, hopes for 'speed' and that the entry into force can come for the next school year.

france chooses to protect its children and sends a strong message to Europe," said Pd deputy Marianna Madia, signatory of the bipartisan bill for access to social platforms. In our country we were one step away from the approval of a bipartisan law on the minimum age for access to social networks, a civilisation law designed to protect the new generations. However, that path has come to a standstill, blocked by a government that proclaims itself sovereignist in words but is not free in facts: it is too often subservient to the interests of the large digital platforms'.

The reference is to the bill "Protection of minors in the digital dimension", presented in 2024 by Fratelli d'Italia senator Lavinia Menunni, under discussion in committee at Palazzo Madama. The measure, which introduces a social ban on minors under the age of 14/15, has been endorsed by the other majority parliamentary groups but also by the PD, which, together with Madia, contributed to the definition of the text.

But in Italy, as Adnkronos recalls, the proposals aiming to introduce bans on minors on social networks as a form of protection and safeguard are at a standstill in Parliament. In the Chamber of Deputies, first signed by Matteo Richetti, a proposal for action has been deposited, also signed by Italia viva, for 'Changes to the code on the protection of personal data', aiming among other things to prohibit 'access by minors under 13 years of age to electronic communication services', while for children between 13 and 15 years of age the joint consent of parents or guardians is required. The text is currently being examined in committee after being combined with other similar measures presented by Gilda Sportiello (M5s) and Angelo Bonelli (Greens).