The European Union’s Special Panel on Child Safety Online has released a formal set of recommendations advising regulators to prioritize systemic design changes on social media platforms over broad age-based access bans. In a report published today, the panel suggests that the focus of European digital policy should shift toward forcing technology companies to address addictive and manipulative platform features, rather than implementing blanket restrictions on teenagers. The European Commission is expected to utilize these findings to shape the region’s long-term strategy for protecting minors in digital spaces.
The panel’s guidance comes amid a growing debate across Europe regarding the appropriate age for social media access. While some member states have proposed legislative bans for users under 15 or 16, the expert group has expressed caution, characterizing such prohibitions as, at best, temporary measures that do not address the underlying architectural risks posed by algorithms and artificial intelligence chatbots. According to the panel, any national-level bans on teenagers over the age of 13 should be subject to continuous evaluation rather than viewed as a permanent solution to online safety concerns.
Shifting the Focus to Age-Appropriate Design
The core of the expert panel’s argument centers on the concept of age-appropriate design. By moving away from a “ban-first” mentality, the recommendations emphasize that platforms must be built with the “evolving capacities” of children in mind. This approach seeks to honor the rights of young people to participate in online environments while ensuring those spaces are fundamentally safe by design. The panel asserts that tech companies bear the primary responsibility for the manipulative interfaces that often keep children engaged for longer than intended.
Amnesty International, through its researcher and adviser on children and young people’s digital rights, Lisa Dittmer, has publicly supported this shift. “Banning teenagers from accessing social media is not the answer,” Dittmer stated. She emphasized that the industry must be held accountable for the “built-in addictive and manipulative designs” currently embedded in leading platforms. The organization argues that systemic oversight is a more sustainable path than restricting access, which may inadvertently isolate young people from the digital communities they utilize for social development and information.
The Regulatory Landscape in the European Union
The European Commission is now tasked with integrating these recommendations into a broader framework of digital governance. This effort involves the coordination of several existing and forthcoming regulations designed to protect internet users. Key pillars of this strategy include the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which governs personal data, and the Digital Services Act (DSA), which sets strict rules for content moderation and platform accountability. Additionally, the recently enacted AI Act and the proposed Digital Fairness Act are expected to play significant roles in curbing harmful automated processes.
The tension between national legislative efforts and EU-wide policy remains a point of friction. For instance, the French government has expressed interest in implementing a social media ban for those under 15 by September 2026. However, the European Commission has signaled concerns that such unilateral national bills may conflict with existing European Union law, which aims to provide a harmonized digital market. These divergent approaches underscore the difficulty of balancing national sovereignty with the bloc’s collective goal of ensuring a consistent level of protection for children across all member states.
Global Context and Future Oversight
Europe’s policy deliberations are occurring against a backdrop of international experimentation with digital access laws. In 2025, Australia became the first nation to enact a comprehensive law prohibiting social media access for children under 16. This development has been closely watched by lawmakers in Europe, providing a real-world, albeit early, case study on the efficacy and challenges of age-gating the internet. As of 2025, the Australian law serves as a primary point of comparison for international observers assessing whether legislative bans or systemic design mandates offer superior protection.
Moving forward, the expert panel has called for a more inclusive regulatory process. They recommend that children, alongside civil society organizations and independent researchers, be meaningfully involved in the assessment of platform risk mitigations. This multi-stakeholder approach is intended to ensure that definitions of a “safe platform” are grounded in the actual experiences of young users.
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