The European Commission “welcomes” the French law, approved yesterday, “which limits the access of children under 15 to social media platforms”. The spokesperson for Digital says so Thomas Regnier adding that the EU executive “continues to work with Member States towards a common and harmonized European approach”.
Currently, he continues, “we are evaluating the recommendations of the group of experts and will present a proposal after the summer”.
The Commission “is already doing a lot to protect minors online, including through the application of the DSA (Digital Services Act) and the DSA guidelines. The guidelines remind us that national legislationin accordance with EU law, may establish a ‘minimum age’ for accessing certain online servicesincluding specific categories of social media services”.
The Commission, he concludes, “expressed an opinion on the French bill to help ensure that any national measure is effective and in line with EU law”.
The risk however, in the absence of legislative intervention at EU level, is that the EU will fragment on this issue many small national digital marketseach with its own rules and minimum age for access to social media for minors.