But, in EU speak, that law is a directive and not a regulation, meaning countries have a lot of leeway in how to apply it. It is also focused on keeping kids away from adult content, not off social media altogether, said Bas Palomares.
There are guidelines under the Digital Services Act, but those guidelines are non-binding and help platforms comply with the EU’s landmark online safety law. Released this summer, the latest version still leaves age restrictions up to EU countries. The guidelines are reviewed annually, so the Commission could look to tighten the screws on platforms next year. But Regnier stressed last week that the Digital Services Act “is not the legal basis that will allow us to set the minimum age” for social media.
There’s also the Digital Fairness Act, an upcoming revamp of consumer law, which will include provisions on protecting vulnerable consumers, including minors. Buscke, who specializes in consumer law, said this is unlikely to include a social media ban.
Craddock said it’s too late to tack a social media ban onto that revamp as consultations are already ongoing and such a measure would require large-scale studies.
Can they, should they?
Warnings about the health dangers of kids’ addictions to social media have piled up — from the EU’s top leadership and governments all the way to health authorities and tech regulators.
But despite the momentum, some experts doubt an outright ban is the right way to go.
Bas Palomares said a ban is incongruous with children’s rights to “protection, information, education, freedom of expression, play” which are “substantially enabled” by social media.
“A social media ban would mean a disproportionate restriction of children’s rights and perhaps push them toward situations of greater risk and lower supervision,” she said. “Before resorting to arbitrary age restrictions, the EU should focus on leveraging and complementing the tools we already have.”