Countries open to age limits for social media

The heads of state governments are open to considering age restrictions for social media. "We want children and young people to be safe in this social world," said Saxony's Minister President Michael Kretschmer (CDU) after the Minister Presidents' Conference in Berlin. In a resolution, the states welcomed the establishment of the expert commission "Child and Youth Protection in the Digital World" and called for its results to be jointly evaluated.

States want to await the results of the expert commission

"I am pleased that, on the initiative of Thuringia and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the states have clearly committed to an age-based regulation for social media," Thuringia's Minister President Mario Voigt (CDU) told the German Press Agency in Erfurt. Voigt had been one of the driving forces behind the issue in the past.

Kretschmer said that they wanted to wait for the results of the expert commission and then implement them. "And that we also want to come to age-appropriate restrictions."

Schweitzer: Media regulation is the responsibility of the federal states

The Minister President of Rhineland-Palatinate, Alexander Schweitzer (SPD), pointed out that media regulation is the responsibility of the federal states. "I have a high regard for expertise. In politics, we should perhaps listen to experts much more often. But nobody is going to take the decision-making responsibility away from us."

At its party conference, the CDU had spoken out in favor of a minimum age of 14 for social media, saying that there was a "special need for protection" up to the age of 16. The SPD is also calling for an age limit of 14 and youth versions of platforms for everyone under 16.