Better enforcement of rules needed for a safer social media and online environment 

This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament.

• Call for algorithmic transparency and a “youth mode” disabling targeted advertising 
• An EU code of conduct for influencers 
• Ban addictive features, protect children from practices such as sharenting and impose ethical standards for ‘AI companions’ 

Companies should guarantee that the use of social media and the digital environment is safe, particularly for children and young people, MEPs say.

To protect minors from the impact of social media, MEPs want EU legislation better enforced and implemented. In a report adopted on Tuesday by the Committee on Culture and Education with 17 votes to three and four abstentions, they say that the online environment must be governed by the principles of privacy-by-design and safety-by-default, age-appropriate design, and algorithmic transparency.

Online platforms are responsible for protecting minors

Pointing to the impact of addictive and persuasive design features on wellbeing of children and young people, MEPs want a ban on the most harmful addictive practices and urge platforms to include risk-based safeguards for their recommender systems. They are encouraging the Commission to introduce personal liability in case of serious and persistent non-compliance with the provisions concerning the protection of minors.

The text also highlights the need for increased transparency around social media algorithmic systems, as opaque algorithms and content moderation hampers the ability of young users to understand why certain content is recommended, suppressed or removed, intentionally undermining their capacity to navigate online content.

MEPs also support the introduction of a “youth mode” disabling targeted advertising and limiting addictive design features for minors.

Regulating influencers and preventing digital overexposure of children

Noting the “increasingly significant role in shaping the perceptions, aspirations and social attitudes of children and young people” played by influencers, MEPs want the Commission and EU countries to develop an EU code of conduct for this activity and for a harmonised definition of “influencer marketing”.

Minors should be protected from commercial exploitation activities such as kidfluencing, when children are turned into influencers, and sharenting, when parents document their children’s lives online.

Consistent EU legislation

The Commission must, MEPs argue, ensure consistency among all key EU legal instruments, including the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD), the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Digital Services Act (DSA), the AI Act, and Digital Fairness Act.

MEPs also put forward proposals for

• mandatory ethical standards for ‘AI companions’ that simulate virtual friendships to prevent the manipulation of a minors’ emotional vulnerability;
• improved transparency for the training of AI models, including clear information on the datasets and materials used for AI systems, and child safeguarding measures;
• online platforms to mitigate the proliferation of AI-generated content impersonating media professionals and brands, so-called “celebrity scams”, and for the Commission to classify these as a systematic risk and intensify ongoing investigations under the DSA;
• online platforms to ensure recommender systems and content moderation mechanisms give more visibility to reliable, and age-appropriate, content and services provided by professional media organisations;
• the explicit ban of AI systems generating, manipulating or altering realistic images or videos depicting sexual content of an identifiable person without consent and synthetic child sexual abuse material (CSAM);
• systematic monitoring across EU member states, including the development of comparable indicators, on children’s digital habits, access to education and the effectiveness of protection measures, including the implementation of age restrictions, age verification, and safety settings.

Quote

“The responsibility for the safety of children and adolescents must first and foremost lie with those who design and manage digital platforms,” said rapporteur Sandro Ruotolo (S&D, IT), ahead of the vote. “The example used by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is appropriate: we do not ask children to design seat belts and we do not ask parents to install airbags. Manufacturers have a duty to ensure the safety of their products. The same principle must apply to digital platforms,” he said. “As rapporteur for the European Parliament, I fully agree with this approach. Platforms must eliminate features that encourage addiction, manipulation, and exposure to harmful content or contacts. Safety shall be incorporated into services by design”.

Press conference

After the vote, the rapporteur will take part in a press conference, at 10.30 CEST, at the Anna Politkovskaya press conference room (SPAAK 0A50) and online. Journalists who want to ask questions should join via Interactio.

Next steps

The own-initiative report will be put to vote by Parliament as a whole during the 14-17 September plenary session.

Background

According to Eurostat, on average 97% of young people in the EU used the internet daily in 2024, with global screen time ranging from an average of nine hours daily for 11-14-year groups to six hours per day for children aged 8-10 years.

Over 80% of young people in Europe use social media daily, with time spend online by children and young people aged 9-16 averaging three hours per day. This means that time spend on social networks more than doubled since 2010, according to the EU’s Joint Research Centre. Several studies report on the negative impact of excessive screen time and social media on young people’s mental health.