Danish PM calls for 15+ age limit for social media in EU

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen wants the European Union to impose an age limit of 15 years old to use social media, in an effort to better shield young smartphone users from harmful content and screen addiction.

“Today you can create a profile in most places if you are just 13 years old. But when you’re 13 years old, you’re still a kid. And we have seen that the risk for children on social media is too great,” Frederiksen wrote in Danish paper Politiken on Sunday and co-authored with EU lawmaker Christel Schaldemose.

An age limit would have to come with effective age verification tools, as “tech giants don’t take responsibility for it,” they added.

The new content-moderation rulebook, the Digital Services Act (DSA), has proven to be “not sufficient” to stand up against platforms, the two authors wrote.

They laid out proposals to “tighten the legislation,” including a ban on addictive designs and advertising to minors and a mandatory notification telling users how much time they spend on online platforms.

The idea of raising the age limit echoes French President Emmanuel Macron’s call last month to have a “digital majority” set at 15 at the EU level.

Via Politico