The European Parliament calls for the “locking” of social networks for those under 16 years of age

Yesterday the European Parliament approved a resolution (supported by a large majority of MEPs) in which he advocated the establishment of a minimum age of 16 years to access social networks.

According to the European Parliament, adolescents between 13 and 16 years old should only have access to TikTok, Instagram and other 2.0 platforms with the express consent of their parents.

In the resolution approved yesterday (which is, however, not binding) MEPs request more severe measures to prevent social networks from relying on designs and mechanisms aimed at promoting addiction and manipulation of the little ones in the house.

The European Parliament also expresses its concern about the risks directly related to mental and physical health that await the youngest on social networks, on video platforms and also in AI systems.

The European Union wants to look in the mirror of Australia

In October, the heads of state and government of the European Union were already in favor of setting a minimum age to be able to access social networks.but they preferred to delegate to the member states the responsibility of applying or not applying restrictions in this regard.

The possibility of establishing a minimum age to be able to enter social networks was also raised last September by Ursula von der Leyenpresident of the European Commission. On that occasion, the head of the community Executive compared the age restrictions for accessing social networks with the restrictions governing the consumption of tobacco and alcohol and referred to Australia as a model to follow.

In the oceanic country, access to 2.0 platforms will be authorized starting December 10 only and exclusively for users over 16 years of age.

The European Union is already working in collaboration with a group of experts in the necessary requirements on the technical level to be able to apply a possible age restriction on social networks. And currently, for example, a verification app is being developed to reliably corroborate the age of those who access social networks.