The European Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection, Michael McGrath, stated this Thursday at the Forum Europa in Brussels that there is agreement within the EU on protecting minors online, but there is disagreement on whether to establish access controls or prohibit social media for anyone under 16, as proposed by Spanish President Pedro Sánchez and already implemented by Australia.
McGrath made this statement while speaking at the New Economy Forum briefing held in the EU capital, where he was asked about the measures that the European Commission, the European Parliament, and other institutions will take to protect minors online.
He defended the need for a “robust public debate” on this issue and added that there is agreement on “focusing much more attention” on the protection of minors in areas such as social media, which has already been promoted in the Digital Services Act, “which imposes very onerous and clear obligations on the platforms included in its scope regarding the protection of minors, and that is how it should be”.
“DIFFERENT OPINIONS”
He added that the European Commission “is carrying out an age verification initiative” for accessing certain digital content and noted that it is working with different countries on this issue, as there are differing opinions.
The Commissioner acknowledged that, in this debate, “the world will be watching very closely what can be learned from the Australian example of prohibiting children’s access to social media”, specifically those under 16. “We will see how viable it is and what its effect is”, he stated.
Regarding this explicit ban on accessing social media before the age of 16, McGrath pointed out that “there are different opinions within the EU on such a drastic measure”.
“There are Member States—and I have spoken with and listened to several of them—that believe we should take a different approach, that we should leverage technology, support parents, implement appropriate regulations, and ensure that the necessary controls are in place”, he stated, while others advocate for a “strict ban”, like Sánchez in Spain.
