Researchers urge EU to prioritize platform regulation over age-based social media bans

The recommendation shifts the regulatory focus from user exclusion to platform accountability, directly challenging the momentum for Australian-style age bans currently gaining favor in member states like France and Denmark. For streaming and social platforms, this suggests a move toward mandatory "Safety by Design" audits rather than just age-gating, potentially increasing operational costs but providing a unified compliance framework. If the EU adopts this regulatory path, platforms must prepare for technical-neutral standards that treat video streaming and interactive messaging under the same high-security requirements. Watch for the Commission's formal response in September 2026 for confirmation of whether age bans or mandatory DSA codes proceed.

The debate over age-based restrictions has intensified as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen signaled plans in July 2026 to propose an EU-wide social media 'delay' for children. This move aligns with growing national pressure, following Australia's landmark Online Safety Amendment Act passed in November 2024, which prohibits minors under 16 from holding accounts on most social platforms. Per Euractiv (July 2026), several EU nations, including Greece and Denmark, are actively pushing for similar bloc-wide limits, whereas the Commission has previously focused on using the Digital Services Act (DSA) to target specific platform features rather than access itself.

Simultaneously, the EU has escalated enforcement against existing platform designs. In July 2026, the European Commission preliminarily found Meta in breach of the DSA, specifically citing the 'addictive design' of Instagram and Facebook, including infinite scroll and autoplay features, as harmful to minors. Per techpolicy.press (April 2026), the Commission also opened proceedings against Meta and Snapchat for failing to effectively prevent users under 13 from accessing their services. These investigations highlight a shift toward scrutinizing the 'rabbit hole' effects of recommendation algorithms and the lack of robust age-verification methods that go beyond simple self-declaration.

Several member states are already moving ahead with stricter local mandates. Norway proposed a public consultation in 2025 to raise its social media age limit to 15, citing research that showed more than half of its nine-year-olds were already online despite current limits of 13. Per The Guardian (October 2024), the Norwegian government is combining these age limits with amendments to their Personal Data Act to ensure platforms cannot process minors' data without explicit parental oversight. This fragmented regulatory landscape across Europe is precisely what the EU Kids Online researchers aim to harmonize through a single, binding DSA-based code.