Safe Social: Social Media That Protects Kids and Strengthens Sovereignty

In many EU Member States, there is strong political pressure to introduce age restrictions on social media for children under 16 without delay. Given the existing harms in the market, this response is understandable. Despite clear obligations, especially under the Digital Services Act, it is becoming increasingly evident that many large online platforms continue to engage in practices that comply neither with the spirit nor with the specific requirements of the European regulatory framework. The core business models and design incentives of major social media platforms remain largely unchanged. Legal violations often remain without consequence.

However, an age limit must not become an end in itself. If it stands alone, it deprives children of the opportunity to benefit from digital technologies. That would be problematic, because the real failure lies with the established technology companies. Under today’s market rules, they have failed to provide safe products for children.

Europe can do better. Europe can protect children more effectively, enable new competitors, and make digital sovereignty concrete where citizens experience it most directly: in the digital everyday lives of their children. What is needed is a “Safe Social” policy that makes safety mandatory and sets market incentives in such a way that responsible conduct also pays off economically. The EU should establish binding certification standards for “Safe Social” products – with a level of protection that is taken for granted for toys, electronics, and other products intended for children.

Any product certified as safe should be eligible for an exemption from the ban and allowed to enter the market for under-16s. The criteria should include, among other things, restrictions on autoplay, engagement metrics, algorithmic curation, and push notifications. Privacy-friendly age verification procedures should also be required. Canada, Germany, and Australia are already exploring similar approaches combining a ban with certified exemptions. A corresponding European approach would therefore be neither unprecedented nor unusual in an international context. To ensure that this new market is not once again controlled by the network effects of dominant platforms, all new providers must comply with simple interoperability standards – comparable to email or SMS. This would promote competition and innovation and give European developers the opportunity to offer scalable alternatives.

The combination of protection standards, certification, and interoperability can bring the marketing and provision of harmful digital products to children to an end. At the same time, it would create a new competitive market for “Safe Social.”

Read the full publication: “Safe Social” – Protecting children. You can also visit the European Data Summit playlist – Day 1, featuring Ben Scott’s keynote on Safe Social.