Should kids be banned from social media? The world is deciding

Should kids be banned from social media? The world is deciding Business

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06:35

Issued on: 19/04/2026 - 16:05

06:35 min Share From the show Reading time 2 min

From the announcement of a new European age-verification app to a video summit of world leaders and legal threats in Australia, governments moved quickly this week on a debate years in the making.

The European Commission, on Wednesday, unveiled what Brussels billed as a landmark tool: an open-source, privacy-preserving age-verification app, designed to limit children's access to social media and sensitive sites without exposing personal data to platforms. 

For years, one of the social media giants’ strongest arguments against age restrictions has been that verification is not possible without building a surveillance infrastructure worse than the problem it solves. 

But European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said there would be no more excuses, with an EU app that is “technically ready” and set to be rolled out soon.

"It is our duty to protect our children in the online world just as we do in the offline world. And to do that effectively, we need a harmonised European approach,” she said.

“And one core topic is the question: how can we ensure that there is a Europe-wide technical solution for age verification? And today I can announce that we have the answer. Our European age verification app is technically ready."

Within 24 hours, cyber and privacy experts were reporting design flaws. Telegram's founder Pavel Durov called it "hackable by design."

As first reported by Politico, security consultant Paul Moore posted a video to X showing an authentication bypass in two minutes. It racked up millions of views.

It comes as French President Macron convened a video call with leaders from Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Ireland, alongside von der Leyen, pushing for a cohesive European approach to protect children online.

Many European countries are considering age restrictions and social media bans, but proposals vary across member states, with different age limits and enforcement models from outright bans, parental consent systems and age verification tools. 

Experts say there are still key deciding factors. VPNs remain a workaround. A teenager using a parent's verified login is hard to monitor let alone stop. And advocacy groups warn that risks are evolving fast, with artificial intelligence already reshaping what young users see online.

“AI is definitely amplifying all the risks that are already linked to social media,” Eurochild EU advocacy officer Francesca Pisanu said. 

“Some risks are, for example, linked to misinformation that can be created through AI. We know that children and young people in general are relying on social media to have news and to be informed.

So definitely, if children are constantly exposed to social media and they are not empowered on how to recognise fake news or actual real news. This is a very important consideration."

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