First France, then Spain, Denmark, the Netherlands and, outside the EU, the United Kingdom. In recent months, several European countries have expressed their desire to ban minors from accessing social networks. This is not a new idea, but it has made a resounding comeback on the political scene since Australia approved a law to this effect last December. The European Commission, under pressure from all sides, is stalling and, for the time being, prefers to offer technical solutions and advice rather than commit to real legislation at European level (see EUROPE 13795/6).
Yet the issue is gaining ground, fuelled by a growing awareness of the physical and mental dangers posed to young people by the networks. In France, 46% of young people believe that social networks have a negative influence on their mental health. Nearly 600,000 additional cases of depression are linked to this.
In its recent initiative to combat cyberbullying, the Commission stated in black and white that it could, drawing on the recommendations of an expert panel, “pave the way to a coordinated, potentially legislative European approach to age thresholds”. Will minors soon be banned from Snapchat, TikTok and similar platforms? Not so sure.
While Member States are perfectly within their rights to prohibit access to certain networks for their citizens who are minors, the issue of sanctions for recalcitrant platforms is more delicate. These can only be penalised through the Digital Services Act (DSA), which is an exclusively European competence (see EUROPE 13680/16).
In other words, France can prohibit its young people from accessing social networks, but cannot legally sanction platforms that have not put in place a viable mechanism to ensure this. This two-tier approach is likely to pose a number of implementation problems.
Article 28 of the DSA, specifically dedicated to the protection of minors online, is now being cited by the Commission as proof that networks must already comply with certain safety expectations for the youngest users. However, it is hard to believe that these rules are respected, given that, on many platforms, such as Instagram and TikTok, minors under the age of 13 have accounts and spend several hours a day scrolling - while the terms and conditions of use prohibit the creation of a profile before the age of 13.
In order to prevent this kind of situation, last year the Commission presented an online age verification mechanism, which is already being tested in several Union countries and which it aims to make available by the summer.
“This application will become our benchmark. We are not forcing the platforms to use it - but, if they choose to propose their own model, it will have to correspond to what we have put in place”, explains Thomas Regnier, spokesperson for the Commission.
A good start, but not enough for many European elected representatives. “We fear that this ban will take some of the responsibility away from the platforms to make their content healthier, which is the real objective”, says one EPP MEP.
“Features such as ‘endless scrolling’ were not created by chance: they were deliberately designed to maximise engagement and dependency, particularly among minors”, says Laura Ballarin Cereza MEP (S&D, Spanish), who would like to see further measures. “better digital literacy for children and parents, rigorous enforcement of legislation and reliable age verification mechanisms that safeguard privacy. We need a harmonised European approach. Fragmentation between Member States benefits platforms, not children”, she stresses.
But other voices, more of a minority but determined to have an impact on the debate, speak out against the idea of a strict ban. “It would be like demonstrating in the 80s to ban television for minors, on the pretext that certain content was inappropriate. No, we have put safeguards in place. It’s the same here”, moderates Leila Chaibi (The Left, French). “What we’re seeing in Australia is that it’s not working, young people are using VPNs and, above all, new platforms are being created all the time, each one worse than the last”, she warns.
The same applies for EDRi, which fights to defend digital rights. According to the association, the first priority is to make digital environments “safer for everyone”. And to ensure that potential age verification methods do not raise privacy or anonymity issues.
However, it is difficult to say that their approach is resonating in national capitals. Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, recently announced that Madrid was going to pass a law introducing a ban. “Today, our children are exposed to a space they should never have to explore alone”, he says, describing social networks as a place “of addiction, abuse, pornography, manipulation [and] violence”.
The same line is being taken in Denmark, which considered proposing such a law as early as October, and in France, a few weeks ago.
“I find it very demagogic, to a certain extent”, says Leila Chaibi sharply. “There is a real issue of addiction, mental health... yes, we need political action. But that’s a slogan, it’s a slam dunk, it’s simpler than saying that we need to support young people, make parents and platforms more responsible, and put money into aid organisations”. (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)