On Wednesday 25 June, MEPs on the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) debated the draft report on the protection of minors online, tabled by MEP Christel Schaldemose (S&D, Danish).
The report, which has already been detailed here (see EUROPE 13645/12), calls for a horizontal European response to the “growing risks” to which young users are exposed: violent and hyper-sexualised content, targeted advertising, cyber-bullying and addictive designs. The S&D MEP is calling for the “harmonised” introduction of an “age verification mechanism” at European level.
While these objectives are broadly shared by all the political groups, there are some differences of opinion about the concrete actions to be taken. For the EPP, the most necessary thing at this stage is to ensure “better application of existing legislation”, particularly the DSA, and legislation against misleading interfaces (‘dark patterns’) and the commercial practices of influencers.
The Left, through MEP Leila Chaibi, believes that banning access to social networks for under-15s “is not a miracle solution”.
“What’s important, on the contrary, is that platforms make inclusive content for everyone and assume their responsibilities by offering products that are safe from the outset”, she claims.
The European Commission has given assurances that the introduction of age verification tools will be very clearly indicated in the guidelines currently being drawn up on the protection of minors online (see EUROPE 13639/18).
These will recommend restrictions on access to the most sensitive content (pornography, gambling, alcohol, etc.). A simplified verification system could be envisaged, with automatic deletion of the data when a majority is reached.
At the same time, a number of member states, led by France, have brought the issue to the forefront of the EU Council and are calling on the Commission to act more quickly on the question of a minimum age for access to platforms (see EUROPE 13666/24).
MEPs have until 2 July to table their amendments.
The report will be voted on by the IMCO committee in October, then by the plenary session in November. (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)