Merz said in general that he is “very, very, very cautious when it comes to legal bans on something like this [social media],” but that the “consequences” of fake news, AI-generated images and platforms like TikTok “make things more challenging.”
Protecting children at school “must come first,” the chancellor said, adding that the idea children must be introduced to digital tools early “doesn’t hold water” as otherwise “you would also have to serve alcohol in primary school so they get used to it.”
Members of Merz’s Christian Democratic Union also expressed their support for a ban. Thorsten Frei, head of the chancellery and a senior CDU figure, said the issue would be debated at a party conference in Stuttgart happening Friday and Saturday.
The Greens and the left-wing Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance have also voiced support for age limits. The far-right Alternative for Germany stands alone in opposing a ban, arguing the proposal is about control rather than children’s wellbeing.
A panel of experts appointed by the government is expected to give its policy recommendation before the summer.
France and Denmark have moved ahead with laws to prohibit kids below a certain age from accessing social media, while many other EU countries have similar proposals under discussion. Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez recently announced a ban for under-16s.
Several countries, such as Greece, have also pushed for action at the EU level and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has assembled a panel of experts to advise her.
Child rights and privacy advocates argue that bans will not be effective in protecting kids from the negative aspects of the online world, but will deprive them of their rights to information and will also lead to backtracking on privacy for the entire population.