Cabinet wants European minimum age for social media
The Dutch cabinet is advocating for a European minimum age for the use of social media. The goal of this is to better protect children against the harmful effects of online platforms. According to the government, social media has a major influence on the mental health and development of young people.
Currently, the age limit varies by platform and by country, which causes a lot of confusion. The cabinet therefore wants a single, clear rule throughout the European Union. With this, the Netherlands hopes that tech companies will take responsibility and implement stricter checks on the age of their users.
Critics and experts point out that enforcing such an age limit is very difficult in practice. Many young people know how to bypass age checks. Nevertheless, the cabinet emphasizes that a European agreement is an important first step toward increasing the safety of children on the internet.
The plans will be discussed with other European member states in the near future. It is not yet clear when such a measure could be implemented. In any case, the discussion about the influence of social media on youth remains an important topic on the political agenda.