Social media ban for youth: what European countries are planning

Florian Bodoky

23/2/2026

Translation: Jessica Johnson-Ferguson

Young people spend around four hours a day online. An increasing number of countries are planning to introduce age limits or bans on social media. From Switzerland to the UK: who’s taking action and what are the benefits?

Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat eat up several hours of people’s attention every day – many of them kids and teens. According to the German JIM Study, we’re looking at an average of 224 minutes a day, which is almost four hours.

At the same time, there are growing concerns in many parts of the world over the negative effects of social media consumption in young people. The main issues being cited are mental health threats – although this is disputed, social pressure and the risk of addiction caused by the algorithms used for short videos.

These concerns are prompting politicians in several countries around the world to take action – from access regulation to a complete social media ban for young people. But which country is planning what? Here’s an overview.

Australia: the pioneer with a nationwide ban

Australia has already introduced a ban Since 19 October 2025, under 16s are no longer allowed to register on major social media platforms and providers must introduce and actively monitor the age of users. Many services use identification processes that require the upload of ID documents or biometrics, for example. These systems are expensive, complex and prone to errors. They’ve also been criticised in many countries for encroaching on users’ privacy. Initial evaluations suggest that the daily consumption time of Australian under 16s is falling slightly. At the same time, young users are reporting they are still able to access social media services by making false claims about their age or connecting via alternative apps. Schools are seeing a decrease in constant digital availability among pupils during class, but also an increased use of alternative messenger services.

France: legal ban planned for under 15s

France is planning to introduce a social media ban for under-15s. Parliament has passed corresponding laws (page in French) that force platforms to make age verification technically possible. The challenge is how to reliably check whether a child is actually 15 without collecting personal data; collecting this kind of data from underage users is strictly regulated under the EU-wide Digital Services Act (DSA). In addition, a national ban may contradict EU law, which harmonises services within the internal market and is also regulated in the DSA.

France is working on technical guidelines, but hasn’t yet established any functioning methods of age verification. In order to further restrict social media consumption, France is planning to extend the existing ban on mobile phones in primary and secondary schools to high schools.

Germany: the political will is there

In Germany, the debate about a social media ban for children has gained considerable momentum in 2026. The latest culmination was at the CDU federal party conference held in mid-February (page in German); the delegates believe that under 14-year-olds shouldn’t have access to platforms like TikTok or Instagram. For 14- to 16-year-olds, they’re envisioning a «youth mode» with no personalised feeds, no automatic forwarding of content and stricter default settings. CDU Secretary General Carsten Linnemann is pushing the issue with Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz supporting the course. The SPD party has formulated similar demands in a position paper that also wants to see an age limit and special youth modes.

This brings the debate to phase two: from party decision to possible legislation. But there’s a lack of unanimity, with members of the coalition holding varying positions. Others point out the seemingly forgotten role of other stakeholders in the protection of minors with regards to social media (page in German). As in France, the question of how to create a technically feasible age check that doesn’t cause data protection issues remains. At the same time, there are the aforementioned conflicts with the overriding EU law. A commission of experts has been mandated to present concrete proposals in the summer. Phase three would be a draft law. The federal government is planning to draft a law based on the recommendations. This would have to go through the cabinet, then the Bundestag and Bundesrat. At the same time, talks with other countries and platform operators are being held.

Spain: EU-compatible regulation planned

The Spanish government also wants to regulate social media for minors by introducing an age limit of 16 and developing a youth protection strategy. Concrete draft legislation is still pending. María González Veracruz, Secretary of State for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence in Spain (page in Spanish), explains that this is needed to create «safe digital environments». She also emphasised the Spanish government’s investments in digital education and infrastructure as well as in equipping pupils with digital skills.

Spanish authorities are currently examining how technical solutions for proof of age could work across the EU. The aim is to test uniform European implementation before national bans are introduced. How this will be done on a technical level remains to be seen. What’s for sure is that there’s vast support from the population. According to the news agency Reuters, 82 per cent of people in Spain support the regulation.

EU law is a structural hurdle

Irrespective of national initiatives, EU legislation is also a point of discussion. The Digital Services Act and other regulations already govern obligations for online services, such as illegal content, advertising and the protection of minors. Critics of national regulations are also pointing to existing initiatives in the European Parliament, which are also considering a minimum age requirement for social media. Proponents of national solutions argue that strict Europe-wide age limits could violate the country of origin principle and the freedom to provide services in the internal market. In addition, platforms would be able to dodge national age bans with an EU-wide law, Ffor example, if a country were to introduce a lower or higher minimum age requirement than the EU. Clarification by the European Court of Justice is still pending.

Albania: national regulation outside the EU framework

Albania is ahead of the EU, but is now backtracking. In late 2024, the south-eastern European state imposed a one-year general ban on the video platform TikTok. This was in response to a 14-year-old being stabbed during a dispute that arose after mutual provocations were exchanged on TikTok. Prime Minister Edi Rama announced on 21 December 2024 that TikTok would be blocked for at least one year from the beginning of 2025 in order to protect children and young people from harmful content and to launch accompanying educational programmes. On 13 March 2025, the Albanian Electronic and Postal Communications Authority (AKEP), together with the National Cybersecurity Authority (AKSK), issued orders to internet providers to technically block the platform.

In an open letter, critics cautioned against censorship and restrictions on freedom of expression and information, especially in the run-up to the parliamentary elections in May 2025. However, the official ban was circumvented many times and lifted again on 6 February 2026. According to media reports, the authorities are still working on filter protection measures for young users.

United Kingdom: «No online platform gets a free pass»

The British government under Prime Minister Keir Starmer wants to significantly improve online safety for children and young people and is considering a social media ban for under-16s. To this end, the existing Online Safety Act 2023 is to be updated and given new legal powers. A three-month public consultation is planned from March 2026, in which age limits for social networks, age verification, a time limit for doomscrolling and a ban on the use of VPNs by children will be discussed. The government also wants to include AI chatbots such as xAI’s Grok in regulation after they were used to create problematic content.

In January 2026 the House of Lords agreed to a motion on the possible restriction for under-16s. Starmer emphasises that a complete ban has not yet been decided on, but remains a possibility. At the same time, he calls for stricter duties for online platforms to protect minors.

Switzerland: «We’re observing»

In Switzerland, the Federal Council is pursuing a moderate course. While social media age restrictions and bans for children and young people are being discussed in these parts, there’s no legal ban at the national level. However, Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider (SP) declared in December 2025 that she was open to a ban on social media for children and announced an in-depth assessment. With this announcement, she’s preaching to the choir in many cases. For example, one petition is calling for social media platforms to be made inaccessible to those under 16. Over 60,000 signatures have been gathered in support of this.

Thomas Minder, President of the Swiss Association of School Principals (VSLCH), is singing from the same hymn sheet. He demanded a ban for young people in October 2025 (page in German). A parliamentary postulate is also calling to explore the possibility of a ban on TikTok for children. In contrast, in November 2025, the Federal Commission for Children and Youth Affairs (FCYA) spoke out against blanket bans and advocated regulation, prevention and media literacy.

Meanwhile, the Federal Act on Communication Platforms and Search Engines (KomPG) is in the pipeline. The consultation on the draft law ended in mid-February. However, this draft deals with the regulation of particularly large platforms in general, without specifically addressing the aspect of children and teenagers. It’s mainly based on the EU’s Digital Services Act.

The issue of proof of age and identity is often raised in connection with discussions of a ban and regulations. Critics are concerned about data protection if such an obligation were to be introduced. The imminent introduction of the e-ID can’t completely dispel these concerns. The partial lack of trust in the security structure of the e-ID is likely to be further exacerbated following the recent revelation of security problems.

Florian Bodoky

Editor

Florian.Bodoky@digitecgalaxus.ch

I've been tinkering with digital networks ever since I found out how to activate both telephone channels on the ISDN card for greater bandwidth. As for the analogue variety, I've been doing that since I learned to talk. Though Winterthur is my adoptive home city, my heart still bleeds red and blue. more

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