How to convince a teenage girl that the bodies she sees on social media are not for comparison with hers? What can you say to a kid who plays video games to convince him that what he sees there and on social networks does not correspond to real life? And how to engage Big Tech companies, whose design, logic and purpose are the profit that they have to think about the mental health of children?
Today, about one in three teens report feeling anxious, sad, or socially excluded due to social media. Hypersexual and violent content, suicide-related content, and cyberbullying are among the harmful forms of content they are exposed to on social media platforms every day, with devastating effects on their mental health.
The committee of experts - psychiatry, law, education and other specialties - which was set up by order of the President of the Commission to study the issue tried to find answers to these difficult issues. The exhibition was curated by Dr. Maria Melchior, director of research at the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research, and Professor Dr. Jörg Fegert, director of the Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy at the University Hospital of Ulm, Germany.
What experts recommend
Commission experts recommend that children up to three years old should not have access to screens at all. However, they avoid talking about a complete ban on access for children from 3 to 13 years old. They speak of limited access and surveillance. And for children over the age of 14, they suggest increasing access to the internet, although social media and video game companies comply with a reduction in design that causes internet addiction and other conditions.
They are not only referring to social networks such as TIK TOK, Instagram and Facebook but also to online games, a category they called "social media plus".
But the President of the Commission was clear: "Social media is not a game. While it is ultimately up to parents to decide when children will get their first smartphones, what we already have is a consensus that there should be a start date for the age at which children can register on social media," he stressed during the handover of the report to the Commission.
In fact, von der Leyen announced the announcement of a ban on children's access to the Internet in September, during her State of the Union inaugural speech in Strasbourg. "Just as we don't give our children car keys before they get their driver's license or let them buy alcohol until they're legally allowed, we need to set the age at which they can legally access social media," he noted.
After all, the example of Australia, which became the first country in the world to vote for a total ban on access to social media for children under the age of 16, has been an inspiration for various countries in Europe that have begun to set an age limit on access. France and Greece moved in the same spirit, talking about banning the access of young people under the age of 15.
Now the Commission hopes that with its recommendation in September it will give clear instructions to both member states and technology companies for a homogenized situation in Europe.
Shocking facts
According to the data he presented, across Europe, young people now spend 4 to 6 hours a day in front of screens. Six hours every day – that's the equivalent of twenty years of their life!
At the same time, across Europe, almost 60% of young children have experienced emotional or psychosocial problems online. And day and night, parents see very well the consequences of this: sleep loss, depression, anxiety, cyberbullying, exposure to harmful content. All of this is happening while our children's brains are still developing.
The report places great emphasis on the competence and obligation of companies to prove that their services do not harm.
"In Europe, whoever develops a product is responsible for its safety. Car manufacturers need to make their vehicles safe. We don't expect children to design their own seat belts. We do not expect parents to install airbags at home. And the same should apply to large technology companies," the President noted. "Platforms have a duty of care to their users, especially their most vulnerable users."
Already, the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA) commits providers to removing harmful features – addictive algorithms, dark patterns, harmful content, or unwanted contacts. In fact, the Commission has already taken action – against TikTok's addictive design and just last week against Meta.
When presenting the report, the members of the editorial team were more flexible. "We don't want to impose bans because this will lead to criminalization of children and parents and we want to avoid that. European law already provides for sanctions for companies that do not comply and this is where we want to lower our pressure. Also, we want to separate the good of the Internet from the addictive patterns of some platforms," said one of them in response to a question from "F".
What experts recommend
The recommendations of the experts in detail:
Children under the age of 3 are mainly exposed to relational risks and distractions of technology (technoference) as passive users of the internet. The risks stem largely from the fact that caregivers replace direct interaction with screen time to calm children down or distract them. This can affect children's attention span, language and socio-emotional development.
Children between the ages of 3 and 5, as early independent users with supervision, are increasingly vulnerable to the risks that exist in online environments and are associated with higher exposure to screens. Social media and other digital services that are optimized to offer instant gratification, recurring reward, and constant external stimuli are completely unsuitable for children's developing abilities and can impair their long-term development.
Between the ages of 6 and 9, children's use of social media and other digital services expands significantly. External feedback from the online world (for example, likes, ratings, and leaderboards) intersects with emerging self-esteem based on real-world skill development. This can intensify anxiety about performance and comparison with peers, increasing vulnerability to cyberbullying, hate speech, and peer harassment.
Between the ages of 10 and 12, children's access to social media spaces+ becomes a key requirement for participation in society. At this age, children are confronted with the acute convergence of developmental sensitivities and platform reinforcement. Algorithmic recommendation systems intensify social comparison, exposure to harmful or illegal content (including child sexual abuse material, extremist propaganda, and misinformation), and addictive design patterns that increase symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Recent prospective research suggests that owning a smartphone for the first time at 12 (instead of 13) may be linked to a higher risk of depression and other mental health problems after one year. This example highlights the fact that, in general, children are particularly vulnerable before the age of 13.
Between the ages of 13 and 15, adolescents transition from supervised use to progressively autonomous use of social media and other digital services. At this age, traditional forms of supervision by caregivers and trainers at school are becoming increasingly ineffective. Risks are increasingly shaped by the structures of social media and other digital services, and not just by individual behaviour.
Finally, between the ages of 16 and 18, adolescents experience a stage of increasingly intense consolidation of their identity and increasing autonomy. Adolescents' evolving abilities better equip them to understand and handle the dangers they face online. However, neurobiological development is far from complete, and the risks of addiction, anxiety, and mental health problems are exacerbated by the use of social media and other digital services. Teenagers at this age need to acquire the necessary skills (for example, critical thinking and assessment) to successfully and safely navigate the digital world and reach its full potential.
MEPs call for uniform protection
Many MEPs are calling for a European response.
The European People's Party (EPP) welcomed the report, but calls for even stricter measures, proposing a single European age limit of 16 for access to social media.
EPP MEP Dora Dávid said the experts' proposal for restrictions under the age of 13 could weaken the current protection regime by creating unnecessary exceptions. The EPP stresses that children across Europe face the same risks and deserve uniform protection, without fragmented approaches
The EPP, in line with its previous demands in the European Parliament, calls for the immediate conversion of the report's recommendations into binding legislation that will include: Prohibition of addictive practices:
Elimination of infinite scrolling, auto-play, and reward loops for minors.
Blocking suggestion algorithms: Banning content recommendation systems based on profiling children.
Protection from commercial exploitation: Prohibition of targeted advertising and financial incentives for child influencers (kidfluencing).
Regulating AI: Strict rules for Generative AI tools, companionship chatbots, and nudity generation apps.
"In recent months we have seen many EU member states propose a minimum age for access to social media to protect the mental health of minors. Now, it is time for a European solution to avoid legal fragmentation between countries," said Christel Saldemos, S&D MEP and rapporteur on the protection of minors online.
"We called for a European minimum age for access to social media and the Commission is now moving in that direction. However, this is only the first step," added Laura Bayarin, coordinator of the Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament's committee on the internal market and consumer protection.
And he takes it a step further: "Today, children are facing a growing mental and physical health crisis, and we cannot let families and teachers deal with it alone. Online businesses must be held accountable, and digital spaces must be secure. In this context, the upcoming Digital Justice Act will be a crucial legislative proposal to ensure that safety by design and by definition becomes the standard and that children are effectively protected in the digital environment. This must include greater transparency around algorithms, stronger safeguards against dark patterns, and action to tackle addictive design features that jeopardize children's well-being," he added.
"Limiting children's access to social media is necessary, but it is not a solution," noted Slovak MEP Veronika Sifrova, who sits on the European Parliament's Public Health Committee, on behalf of the European Liberals.
"Addictive algorithms, harmful content, and AI-driven interactions harm our children's mental health. If we do not act, young people's mental illness is estimated to cost €1.68 trillion between 2024 and 2033. This is a public health emergency. The European Commission should declare it as such and respond with the urgency required by the conjuncture," he stressed.
The EU must guarantee the safety of children and adolescents
"We are convinced that Europe must introduce protective measures to guarantee the safety of children and adolescents in the digital world," said Maria Melchior. Our conclusions are very clear. Children and adolescents need to be safe on social media and other digital services they use, regardless of the platform," said the French expert.
"Only after the technical safety and suitability of their services for minors has been demonstrated, social media providers should be given general access to these services within the single market," added the committee's co-chairman, Jörg Fegert, who also called for "strengthening the implementation of existing regulations".
Blocking suggestion algorithms: Banning content recommendation systems based on profiling children.
Protection from commercial exploitation: Prohibition of targeted advertising and financial incentives for child influencers (kidfluencing).
Regulating AI: Strict rules for Generative AI tools, companionship chatbots, and nudity generation apps.
"In recent months we have seen many EU member states propose a minimum age for access to social media to protect the mental health of minors. Now, it is time for a European solution to avoid legal fragmentation between countries," said Christel Saldemos, S&D MEP and rapporteur on the protection of minors online.
"We called for a European minimum age for access to social media and the Commission is now moving in that direction. However, this is only the first step," added Laura Bayarin, coordinator of the Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament's committee on the internal market and consumer protection.
And he takes it a step further: "Today, children are facing a growing mental and physical health crisis, and we cannot let families and teachers deal with it alone. Online businesses must be held accountable, and digital spaces must be secure. In this context, the upcoming Digital Justice Act will be a crucial legislative proposal to ensure that safety by design and by definition becomes the standard and that children are effectively protected in the digital environment. This must include greater transparency around algorithms, stronger safeguards against dark patterns, and action to tackle addictive design features that jeopardize children's well-being," he added.
"Limiting children's access to social media is necessary, but it is not a solution," noted Slovak MEP Veronika Sifrova, who sits on the European Parliament's Public Health Committee, on behalf of the European Liberals.
"Addictive algorithms, harmful content, and AI-driven interactions harm our children's mental health. If we do not act, young people's mental illness is estimated to cost €1.68 trillion between 2024 and 2033. This is a public health emergency. The European Commission should declare it as such and respond with the urgency required by the conjuncture," he stressed.
The EU must guarantee the safety of children and adolescents
"We are convinced that Europe must introduce protective measures to guarantee the safety of children and adolescents in the digital world," said Maria Melchior. Our conclusions are very clear. Children and adolescents need to be safe on social media and other digital services they use, regardless of the platform," said the French expert.
"Only after the technical safety and suitability of their services for minors has been demonstrated, social media providers should be given general access to these services within the single market," added the committee's co-chairman, Jörg Fegert, who also called for "strengthening the implementation of existing regulations".
