German Ethics Council rejects blanket social media age limit, proposes three-tier risk-based protection model

The German Ethics Council has formally advised against introducing a blanket legal minimum age for social media use by children and adolescents. In a statement presented in Berlin on Thursday, the council argued that a fixed age limit is "not suitable" for balancing the protection of young people with their rights to digital participation and skill development.

A shift from platforms to risks

Council chairman Helmut Frister said children today grow up with digital services that are central to their communication and information needs. The 42-page paper, requested by Bundestag President Julia Klöckner, warns that restricting only social media would ignore dangers from other digital services. These include messaging apps, online games, streaming platforms, and generative AI tools like chatbots and image generators.

“Digital risks are ubiquitous, but they stem from content and functions that are not only found in social media.”

Judith Simon, the philosopher who led the statement's drafting, noted that minors are increasingly using generative AI. A social media ban could push them toward chatbots, which she described as having "no less significant risks" and being "even more insufficiently regulated."

The three-tier protection model

Instead of a ban, the council proposed a three-stage technical protection concept. The first stage places responsibility on parents, who would configure devices by entering their child's age and managing screen time or app access. The second stage addresses children whose parents do not use these controls, suggesting device-based age verification using official documents. The third stage would require reliable age checks for access to particularly sensitive content, with providers obligated to verify that the proof genuinely belongs to the user.

Parental rights and state support

The council stressed that a minimum age would disproportionately interfere with parents' right to balance their child's protection and participation needs. It called on the state to respect and support parental freedom, while providing easily accessible, reliable information about online dangers and better technical tools for monitoring children's activities.

European regulatory foundation

The Ethics Council pointed to the EU's Digital Services Act, in force since February 2024, as a solid basis for platform regulation. However, Frister said the rules must be implemented "much more effectively" and providers must be held more accountable. The council also recommended modernising Germany's Interstate Treaty on the Protection of Minors in the Media and extending protections to AI applications.

Political context

The statement arrives one day before education ministers are set to declare their position on social media. The governing CDU and SPD parties have called for a legal age limit of 14, though Education Minister Karin Prien recently avoided naming a specific age. An expert commission she appointed is expected to deliver recommendations by late June. Australia remains the first country to ban under-16s from social media, a rule in effect since 10 December 2025.