Germany’s governing conservatives have formalised a push to limit young people’s access to social media, adopting a motion at a party conference that calls for a legal age threshold and tougher verification of teenagers online.
At the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) conference in Stuttgart, delegates passed text that calls on the federal government to establish a legal minimum age of 14 for the use of social networks and to recognise an extended need for protection in the digital environment up to age 16. The motion also urges the introduction of sanctions for online platforms that fail to enforce such age limits and asks for harmonised age standards across the European Union.
“We call on the federal government to introduce a legal age limit of 14 for the use of social networks and to address the special need for protection in the digital sphere up to the age of 16,” the motion states.
The CDU’s stance comes as several European governments examine comparable restrictions. The motion notes that countries including Spain, Greece, France and Britain are considering bans or access restrictions on widely used platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. The party cited the example of Australia, which in the previous year became the first country to compel platforms to block children’s access.
Pressure from the CDU is reinforced by backing from its coalition partners, the Social Democrats, increasing the likelihood that the federal government will pursue some form of restriction. At the same time, Germany’s federal system complicates a straightforward national rollout: media regulation is assigned to the Länder, meaning that states must negotiate with one another to create consistent, countrywide rules.
Party demands for fines against platforms that do not comply reflect a hardening approach to enforcement. The motion additionally advocates aligning age-related rules across the EU in order to avoid a patchwork of national standards.
European governments’ moves to tighten regulation of social media risk provoking tension with the United States. The motion and the broader European trend come against a backdrop of warnings from U.S. policymakers: President Donald Trump has threatened tariffs and sanctions if EU measures impose new tech taxes or online regulations that disproportionately affect U.S. companies.
On the ground, the proposed ban would touch the daily lives of many schoolchildren. At the Cardinal Frings Gymnasium in Bonn, several pupils were observed using mobile phones on school grounds. Reactions from students varied.
Thirteen-year-old Moritz, who says he primarily watches YouTube, said he considered the idea fair but thought parental judgement should play a role. “I think it’s fair, but I think it should be up to the parents to decide whether to forbid it, not the state,” he said. He added that children under 12 should be prohibited, but that from age 12 they are already capable of discerning fake news from reality.
Emma, also 13, who mainly uses Snapchat and has a time limit set on her phone, described the prospect of a ban as unusual because of established routines: “You get used to sending your snap in the morning before school, or what my friends do, like just scrolling through Instagram or TikTok for a bit.”
Another pupil, 12-year-old Ella, said she uses TikTok and Instagram several times daily and recognised the platforms’ addictive pull: “So I have TikTok and Instagram myself, but I understand that it’s all addictive, and the more you scroll, the more you want to see.”
Till Franke, a teacher at the school, said that a ban would initially be a shock for many students due to their daily use of social media. He added, however, that over time pupils would likely adapt, finding other ways and places to communicate with one another.
Key points
- CDU adopted a motion seeking a legal minimum age of 14 for social network use and extended protections up to age 16, plus EU-wide harmonisation and fines for non-compliant platforms.
- Coalition partner the Social Democrats supports similar measures, raising the odds of federal action, but state-level media regulation means implementation requires agreement among Germany’s Länder.
- Measures add to a broader European push that could affect major social media companies and carries the risk of political friction with the United States.
Risks and uncertainties
- Legal and administrative hurdles - Because media regulation is the responsibility of the states, achieving consistent nationwide rules depends on inter-state negotiations, delaying or complicating implementation; this affects regulatory and legal sectors.
- International tension - Proposals to tighten controls and introduce penalties for platforms could provoke retaliatory measures from the United States, potentially affecting multinational tech companies and cross-border digital trade.
- Compliance and enforcement - Platforms may face operational and compliance costs to implement stricter age verification and cope with fines, with implications for technology, compliance, and digital advertising markets.
Further developments will depend on negotiations between federal and state authorities and the specific legal instruments the government chooses to pursue.