Youth Online Safety – Are Social Media Age Bans a Solution? – WS 06 2026

Several countries, European and beyond, are discussing the introduction of social media age restrictions, amounting to bans for children. Australia banned social media for under-16s last year, France has adopted a similar law, and Spain and Denmark are considering the same. The possibility of introducing social media age bans to harmonize the ban at the EU level is being discussed by the European Commission, while MEPs approved an opinion addressing how social media and the online environment affect young people, in support of an age limit.

But do these measures serve the purpose of protecting children from illegal and harmful content? Are total bans the only viable path forward? How can the age of children and young people be verified precisely and in a way that preserves their privacy? What is the reaction of youth towards these measures, and how involved are they in the debate? Are young people’s voices meaningfully consulted in serious and sustained ways and translated into active policy shaping? What does the Australian example tell us? Can children circumvent such a measure? France is going after VPNs to prevent circumvention. What is next?