As a growing number of European countries move to restrict children’s access to social media, questions are being raised about why the shift is happening now and whether such measures will be effective.
France, Spain, Austria, Norway, Ireland, Germany, Denmark, Greece, the UK, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia, Poland, Finland, the Czech Republic, Latvia and Lithuania are among the European countries that have taken initial steps or expressed support for banning social media use for children, mostly under ages 14-16.
However, experts believe broader measures are needed.
Nick Couldry, professor of media and communication at the London School of Economics, told Anadolu that he takes these bans “as a response to a very deep crisis" in our social world caused by social media.
He pointed to social media’s business model, which exploits people’s time and attention for profit regardless of age.
“It's driven by the search for profit. Profit's not bad, but maybe the idea of exploiting our daily lives for profit, exploiting our public world for profit is another matter,” he said.
He pointed to growing damage to communities, particularly children, who are the most vulnerable to social influence.
He cited tragic cases of suicides linked to online content, body dysmorphia especially among young girls, and loss of confidence driven by intensified peer pressure on social media platforms.
Couldry said growing up today is fundamentally different when peer pressure is “reinforced by a machine, that's sending this stuff at you at hyper speed.”
Ismael Sanz Labrador, applied economics professor at Madrid-based Rey Juan Carlos University, also backed the proposed bans, stressing that it is time to reinforce the role of schools and parents.
He told Anadolu that restrictions imposed solely by parents or schools may not always be effective and could even backfire, as adolescents often believe their parents “do not know everything” and may see such limits as unreasonable.
“So once there is a ban by the society, then kids may think ‘Well, it is not only my parents, it is not only my teachers who are saying that be careful with social networks’,” Labrador said.
He argued that broader societal bans could reinforce awareness among children that excessive social media use has harmful effects, adding that even when they are old enough to use such platforms, they would still remain conscious of their negative side.
Labrador further noted that collective bans could ease children’s fear of missing out, as they would know their friends are subject to the same restrictions.
Jessica Galissaire, a senior policy researcher in Interface’s Digital Public Sphere program, acknowledged the growing political urge to take action on the issue.
She told Anadolu that such proposals “come from a very real concern” as kids and teenagers are increasingly exposed to harmful content and online risks on social media platforms.
However, Couldry argued that age-based social media bans focus on only one part of the population by targeting those under a certain age.
He stressed that adults also suffer from the effects of social media, including exposure to disinformation.
“Everyone suffers from this environment. So it's only dealing with half of the problem,” Couldry added.
He further argued that the current proposals are not bold enough because they fail to address the “business models that make profit out of social life on platforms,” which he described as the root cause of the problem.
“I think we need governments to ban business models, which are toxic for social life.
“We need to actually have governments that support … platforms that are not for profit, that are not a threat to anyone,” Couldry added.
For Galissaire, the proposed bans are both timely and overdue.
“I would say it is a bit late because these habits are now so entrenched in our cultural habits that it's going to be hard to change. But at the same time, it remains very urgent to try and reverse the situation,” she said.
Galissaire said she favors a more proportionate and holistic approach rather than outright bans, highlighting that efforts should focus on making social media platforms safer for everyone, not just minors.
She stressed the need for greater investment in digital literacy, while also addressing the addictive design features of platforms.
“If we want to protect kids, we have to act on the recommended systems and make sure we come back perhaps to the original model,” Galissaire further said.
She recalled that the original premise of major social media platforms was simply to connect people, with feeds based on users’ friends and the pages they follow.
“It wasn't based on a very sophisticated algorithm that analyzed your very move, every action, how much time you spend on a video, what content you engage with,” she said.
Galissaire also pointed to the challenges that may arise during the implementation phase of the bans, citing an October study of her own that examined EU-level provisions that already mandate age assurance under different pieces of legislation.
She said her study shows that the platforms have not implemented any of these provisions, because “they have zero interest in doing so.”
On the contrary, they want people to stay for longer time on their platforms, because that's how they make money, she said.
Galissaire also warned that age verification tools such as facial recognition are not perfect yet, suggesting that they might block some adults who should be allowed in while accepting children who look older.
All three experts also acknowledged concerns that the bans may fail to stop children from finding ways around restrictions through methods such as VPNs or by shifting to unregulated platforms.
Galissaire explained that most of the time only the biggest platforms are regulated, leaving many others untouched, where children “may find even worse content.”
She, however, urged caution when using this argument, saying it is also frequently used by the social platforms themselves.
“We should be careful about using this argument, because I still think it's worth it, focusing on the biggest actors, at least it sends a message. And hopefully, it helps changing things a little bit,” Galissaire added.
Galissaire also urged states to move beyond the logic of merely fining platforms when they are non-compliant, stressing that such penalties mean little to companies making billions.
She called for sanctions such as banning such platforms from the European market if they fail to respect European law.
“If we did that, it would send a strong signal. And actually, I think, if we threaten to do it, the platforms would react before it happens,” Galissaire added.
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