Harris-Hess referenced a ministerial meeting in Nicosia last week, where EU capitals aligned on an EU-wide restriction, as an indication of the political momentum.
Whatever form a ban takes, if it is decided, it is necessary to discuss “What is the environment we want to see for those who can access the service?’ It can’t be nothing, it has to be some form of protection,” for those minors between the lower age set by restrictions and the 18-year-old age of majority, he said.
While saying that legally, an EU-wide ban is a possibility, Harris-Hess rejected the word “ban” as “emotionally laden” and said measures would face “practical difficulties,” as evidenced in Australia.
Canberra introduced an under-16 social media ban last year, which has produced no meaningful changes in platform behavior or among children, according to the Australian government’s assessments.
Sonia Livingstone — a professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science who is leading the Commission’s panel of experts — came out strongly against a blanket ban on the panel, telling POLITICO that age restrictions are not easy to define or implement.
“The ban sounds simple, and it isn’t,” she said. “What will we ban? Which services? How will we ban them? What will we provide for children when we have banned them? How will we even know if we have banned them? And what about the children who find the workarounds? Aren’t they even more at risk? So it’s not the simple route,” Livingstone said.