The European Union countries are increasing in calls for more extremism regarding the limit of minors’ ability to use social media, in light of their wide spread of contents that pose a danger to children, such as e -bulletin, misinformation and hate speech.
According to a report by the French Press Agency, several European countries, including France, are seeking, knowing that the European Union originally has one of the most striking legislation in the world regarding the organization of giant digital companies.
However, calls for more extremism are increasing among the 27 member states, in light of the negative effects of studies on social media on mental and physical health.
In this context, Greece, with the support of France and Spain, proposed to organize the use of children electronic platforms, amid fears of their addictive nature, knowing that the ideas of countries in this regard were raised to a ministerial meeting in Luxembourg.
“We have an opportunity that I cannot miss, and this is what I came today to say to the European Commission,” said French Minister of Digital Affairs Clara Shabaz.
“Europe should be able to act appropriately as soon as possible.”
The Greek proposal includes the determination of a digital agency at the European Union level, so that children who have not reached the use of social media without the consent of the parents cannot.
Other countries expressed support for the proposal after its publication last month, including Denmark, who will take over the periodic presidency of the European Union Council for a period of 6 months as of July, and promised to make this issue a priority.
France was at the forefront of organizing platforms, as in 2023 a law obligated the platforms to obtain the approval of the parents if the users were less than 15. However, this procedure has not yet obtained the necessary approval from the European Union.
This year, France committed porn sites to check the ages of users, with the aim of preventing children from entering them. This procedure prompted 3 of these sites: “Yiporne”, “Born Hob” and “Red Tube” to block their pages in France this week in protest against this condition.
Age checking
Greece asserts that its goal is to protect children from the risks associated with excessive use of the Internet.
The proposal does not specify the age that should be adopted as a digital adult, but Papastirio saw that the platforms should know the true age of its users “so that it does not provide content that is not suitable for minors.”
France, Greece, and Spain complain of algorithms that expose children to addictive content that may exacerbate anxiety, depression and self -esteem problems.
These countries also express their concern about the early exposure to screens, which is believed to hinder the development of social media skills and other basic learning skills for minors.
The proposal of the proposal called for “an application at the level of the European Union that supports parental control mechanisms, allows proper verification of life, and the use of minors is restricted by some applications.”
They demanded that devices such as smartphones be noted a system to check.
The European Commission wants to launch an application to verify the next month, at the same time that ensures that the personal data is not disclosed.
Last May, the European Union published temporary instructions for platforms aimed at providing better protection for minors. It is scheduled to be approved permanently this month after a general consultation.
These undisputed guidelines are currently involved in automatically controlling children’s accounts on the special position, as well as simplifying ban options and notifications.
Brussels is currently underway under the new European Digital Services Law in order to investigate the non -provision of the social media platforms “Facebook” and “Instagram” owned by the American “Mita” group, as well as “Tech Talk”, sufficient protection for children from harmful content.
During the last week, the European Commission also opened an investigation into 4 pornographic sites for not preventing children from entering the contents of adults.