The European Commission is ready to introduce new, uniform rules for the entire European Union to restrict minors' access to social networks and video-sharing platforms.
The European Commission is ready to introduce new, uniform rules for the entire European Union to restrict minors' access to social networks and video-sharing platforms.
POLITICO, which has obtained drafts of official documents on this subject, claims that teenagers in the EU will be prohibited from registering on social networks on their own under the age of 15.
EU authorities will present a new law on Thursday. It will not only set restrictions for underage users, but also require digital products themselves to be “safe by nature.”
Such age restrictions are the European Commission’s response to criticism of the current state of affairs from health and psychology experts, as well as to complaints from many politicians and parents about the negative impact of platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and others on the mental health of minors.
In particular, this came after many months of intense pressure from government officials, including French President Emmanuel Macron, to put this issue at the top of the agenda.
The new EU policy will apply to social networks, video-sharing platforms, online games, AI-based chatbots, but will exclude educational tools. It will also include a series of educational measures for children, parents and carers.
The publication emphasizes that the final text of the document can still be changed before its official presentation, and for now it does not set strict restrictions on access to social networks, but instead provides for the creation of certain types of accounts available to people of all ages.
For example, parents can open accounts for children under the age of 13 that are fully controlled by them.
At the same time, accounts for children aged 13 to 15 will have restrictions on contact with strangers and screen time. After 15, teens can create their own accounts.
The documents say the proposal would also require verification technology for social media and video-sharing platforms to verify the age of users.
Previously, a number of countries in the EU and around the world have already introduced more or less strict rules regarding the use of social networks for children and adolescents.
dev.ua also tried to figure out whether Ukrainian teenagers should prepare for restrictions. In particular, the Verkhovna Rada is preparing a bill that would introduce graduated restrictions on the use of social networks and gadgets for children.
