Experts urge better platforms instead of banning social media for children

Estonian media researchers say improving social media platforms would be more effective than simply banning children from using them, ERR reports. The debate in the European Union concerns a safe internet use regulation that would introduce several restrictions on minors’ access to social media, including a proposed minimum age of 13.

Indrek Ibrus, a media professor at Tallinn University, criticised the EU initiative, saying the planned restrictions could conflict with children’s fundamental rights.

“In my opinion, it is generally quite a bad idea,” Ibrus said, arguing that the proposal disregards the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. “Children must have the opportunity to express themselves and freely obtain information to support their development and identity. Any age-based restriction on access to information essentially disregards children’s rights.”

Ibrus said the European Commission was effectively giving up instead of making platforms safer and more suitable for children. Existing regulatory tools, including the Digital Services Act, should be enforced, he said.

Andra Siibak, a media studies professor at the University of Tartu, also said that relying solely on bans and restrictions was not the best solution. She said platforms’ business models needed to change, while welcoming the EU’s demands for concrete measures to better protect children’s rights, wellbeing and privacy.

Siibak added that many of the recommended changes were already included in earlier EU regulations, including the Digital Services Act and the AI Act. The EU must now consider how to require platforms to make the changes and monitor whether they actually do so, she said.

Katrin Tiidenberg, a professor of participatory culture at Tallinn University, warned against overly rigid bans, citing Australia’s experience. She said the Australian ban had not stopped under-16s from using the internet, but had made it more difficult to know what they were doing on social media and which services they were using.

One of the main questions surrounding the EU Kids Act is how to verify users’ ages without causing widespread breaches of privacy.

Ibrus said age verification posed a significant risk. Identification could directly infringe on privacy, he said, and platforms could also use it to profile users more precisely, creating several potential dangers.

He added that although the EU is developing a digital wallet solution that could eventually provide secure infrastructure, any restrictions should be approached with extreme caution.

Siibak likewise said it was currently difficult to find a reliable and transparent method of verifying age. Previous attempts to use facial recognition software had not proved successful, while young people could easily bypass restrictions, for example by using their parents’ documents.