• EU legislators behind ban on social media for under 16s.
• No legal teeth to parliamentary resolution.
• Willingness to legislate in Europe as Australian law faces challenges.

The European Parliament has voted in support of a resolution proposing a ban on social media access for EU citizens under 16.

The Parliament passes around 400 resolutions a year, and the mechanism does not as of itself produce any stipulation that’s legally binding. Resolutions are seen as an expression of opinion among the 720 Members of the European Parliament, so may affect future proposals for new laws, or create amendments to existing legislation or regulations.

Around six or seven resolutions each year reference the discussions taken by the meetings of the European Council, which comprises of the EU heads of state (who meet on an ad hoc basis around four times a year). It’s not clear in this latest case whether MEPs were responding to any discussions that have taken place between EU leaders.

Nevertheless, the passing of the resolution signals a willingness on the floor of the Parliament for measures that curtail the access by minors to social media networks. The resolution aims to address the issue of digital addiction, online manipulation, child safety, and the mental health issues linked to excessive time spent online by young people.

MEPs are urging the EU to consider age-based restrictions on social media, stronger identity verification tools to sign up for services, curbs on advertising, and mandatory safety-by-design rules for the big networks. Members cited the deliberately addictive nature of social media apps, potential data harvesting by platform owners, and exposure to harmful content. The resolution also calls for transparent obligations on platforms that target minors specifically. Its supporters have pointed to the findings of various academic studies that link social media use [PDF] with mental health and sleep issues in teenagers, the latest from the Regional Office for Europe of the World Health Organization.

At present, social media networks limit membership to those aged 13 or above, but – to varying degrees according to platform and geography – any measures in place on-platform are circumvented fairly easily. Social media operators thrive on greater numbers of users, so their balance between high new user sign-up figures and (younger) child protection may be clouded by commercial realities.

Critics of the resolution point to the difficulties of enforcing any measures operationally without investment in the necessary digital infrastructure. That’s a hill the UK government has had to climb recently with its implementation of a minimum sign-up age of 18 for adult online content.

The poster child of social media bans for young people remains Australia, the legislation for which is being contested by the affected platforms and users. However, moves to limit children’s access to social platforms are if not popular, but spreading: Malaysia has announced recently that it is considering following the Australian government’s lead.

While the European Parliament and national governments are under pressure from parents and mental health groups to curtail the effects of possible online harms, the social media companies – with no inconsiderable financial weight – continue to lobby in the opposite direction. In general, the claim is that companies are doing their best to protect younger users, in spite of policy shifts in the last year that have reduced content moderation in line with the laissez faire approach to all things of the current US government.

Europe is seen in technology circles as the international power that is more stringent towards the regulation of online services and the imposition of fines on violators. Any European government decisions on the issue of young people’s online activities may be several years in the gestation and will depend to a certain degree on how platforms regulate themselves.

(Image source: “53 (Kids in Street)” by J.M.Escudero is licensed under CC BY 2.0.)

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