The Netherlands, Spain push for EU-wide minimum age on social media

Published on

11/09/2026 - 14:46 GMT+2

The Hague and Madrid are pushing for an EU-wide minimum age for social media use, potentially extended to other online services, as the European Commission prepares to announce its own proposal next week.

The social media ban should be harmonised and enforced at European level, and extended to video games, AI chatbots and other risky digital services, the two countries said in a non-paper circulated on Friday.

Restricting minors' access to social media has become an increasingly hot topic in the EU and beyond. France, Greece, Austria, Denmark, Spain, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Poland and the Netherlands are all considering or advancing national legislation to that effect.