BRUSSELS

The Flemish government, one of Belgium’s regional administrative bodies, has introduced a binding minimum age of 13 years for access to social media platforms deemed harmful to minors, aiming to compel companies to adopt effective age verification systems, local authorities announced Friday.

Under current rules, children must be at least 13 to create social media accounts, but this is often circumvented due to a lack of enforcement, officials said, according to the Belga news agency.

The new decree would require platforms such as TikTok and Snapchat to implement robust age checks to prevent underage users from accessing their services.

The decision follows growing debate in Flanders over the potential risks of social media for young people, including exposure to harmful content, unsafe interactions, addictive algorithms, and misinformation, government sources said.

The measure builds on the “Safe Online” action plan approved late last year, which forewent a total ban up to age 16 in favor of strengthening protections for minors through age verification and limiting addictive features such as endless scrolling.

Under the new framework, the government will compile an official list of “harmful social media” platforms required to comply with the age limit.

Flemish Media Minister Cieltje Van Achter stressed the need for enforceable rules.

“The trend is clear: more and more people are deeply concerned about the impact these platforms have on our society and, in particular, on our children,” she said, adding that big tech companies must protect young users or face removal from the market.