In Germany, the debate over introducing strict age restrictions for access to digital platforms is intensifying. The Social Democratic Party of Germany has proposed a complete ban on social media use for children under the age of 14. This initiative, inspired by solutions from Australia, has gained interest from the opposition Christian Democrats, although the technical and legal details remain the subject of intense disputes among political parties and experts.

SPD Age Restrictions

The Social Democrats plan a complete access ban to social media for children under the age of 14 and age verification for older youth.

Algorithm Limitation

The proposal assumes that content recommendation systems will be disabled by default for all users, requiring their active approval by the recipient.

Christian Democrats' Reaction

The CDU is analyzing a motion to raise the age barrier to 16 years, which will be decided during the party's national congress this weekend.

Regulation Opponents

The AfD party opposes introducing the ban, arguing that the state should not impose top-down technological blocks in private space.

The German political scene is closely examining the SPD's proposal for a radical reform of minor protection on the internet. The main assumption is to technically prevent access to social networking sites for children who have not reached the age of 14. For youth aged 14 to 16, a system of parental consent and mandatory age verification is planned. The authors of the strategic document, including members of the Bundestag and the European Parliament, argue that addictive algorithms and mechanisms pose a real threat to the mental health of the youngest internet users. The discussion about children's online safety has intensified globally since 2021, when whistleblowers from large technology corporations revealed internal studies indicating correlations between social media use and depression among teenagers. Reactions from other political forces are varied. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) shows openness to changes, but individual regional factions present different visions regarding the age limit. The CDU branch from Schleswig-Holstein advocates raising the threshold to 16 years, which is to be the subject of debate at the upcoming party congress in Stuttgart. Meanwhile, the BSW formation strongly supports the restrictions, while AfD rejects the idea of a ban, calling it an interference with civil liberties. Technology experts emphasize that effective implementation of such regulations would require widespread use of a digital identity wallet, which raises privacy concerns. „I see an urgent need for action because the current protection mechanisms against algorithm addiction are insufficient.” — Jan Redmann The SPD project also envisions changes for individuals above the age of 16 and adults. It is proposed that recommendation systems based on algorithms be turned off by default. The user would have to consciously activate the content suggestion function, which is intended to limit the phenomenon of so-called doomscrolling. For failing to fulfill the technical blocking duties for minors, digital platforms would be subject to severe administrative sanctions. 14 years — is the proposed threshold for a complete ban on access to social media platforms Proposed age limits for social media: : → ; : → ; : →

Mentioned People

  • Jan Redmann — Chairman of the CDU parliamentary group in the Brandenburg state parliament, supporting stricter regulations.