EU lawmakers call for stricter online protections for minors

Members of the European Parliament are urging stronger EU-level action to protect minors online, including setting an EU-wide minimum digital age of 16 and banning what they describe as the most harmful addictive design practices used by online platforms.

In a non-legislative report adopted on November 26 by 483 votes to 92, with 86 abstentions, MEPs warned of growing physical and mental health risks facing children online and called for tougher safeguards against manipulative and addictive features that undermine concentration and healthy engagement with digital content, Caliber.Az reports via the Parliament. 

The proposal recommends a harmonised minimum age of 16 for access to social media, video-sharing platforms and AI companions, while allowing teenagers aged 13 to 16 to use such services with parental consent.

MEPs backed the European Commission’s work on an EU age-verification app and the European digital identity wallet, stressing that any age-assurance tools must be accurate, privacy-preserving and must not diminish platforms’ legal responsibility to ensure products are safe and age-appropriate by design.

To strengthen enforcement of the Digital Services Act and related legislation, lawmakers suggested considering personal liability for senior managers in cases of serious and repeated non-compliance, particularly regarding the protection of minors.

They also called for bans on platforms that fail to follow EU rules, stronger action against manipulative technologies such as targeted advertising, influencer marketing and dark patterns under the upcoming Digital Fairness Act, and a prohibition on engagement-based recommendation systems for children.

MEPs further urged extending DSA rules to online video platforms, outlawing loot boxes and other randomised gaming features, and shielding minors from commercial exploitation, including ending financial incentives for “kidfluencing.” They also pressed for urgent EU measures to address the ethical and legal challenges posed by generative AI tools such as deepfakes, AI companions and apps capable of producing non-consensual manipulated images.

By Sabina Mammadli