Fine Gael MEP Regina Doherty has called for stronger European action against harmful and addictive social media design, following new expert recommendations on how the EU can better protect children online.
The Special Panel on Child Safety Online presented its work to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen today, ahead of her plans to set out a European approach in September.
“Social media is not a toy. Some young people are spending up to six hours a day online. That is six hours of their young lives every day being shaped by feeds, algorithms and platforms designed to keep them watching.
“President von der Leyen is right to look at a phased approach based on age. Why should a child under 13 have access to social media at all? We need clear age limits and strict age verification that also protects people’s privacy,” Doherty said.
“But age limits alone will not make the online world safe. We have to take on infinite scrolling, autoplay and recommender algorithms designed to shift children into autopilot and keep them watching for as long as possible.”
“Safety by design must now be at the heart of Europe’s approach. Blanket bans can give the impression of safety, but if harmful and addictive design remains untouched, we have only dealt with one part of the problem.”
The Fine Gael MEP said “when we talk about social media, parents should know this is not just Snapchat, TikTok or Instagram; it is the feeds, video platforms, gaming spaces and online services where children can spend hours consuming content chosen for them by algorithms.”
“The work presented today gives regulators a real platform from which to act. We need more research, but we already know enough to say the status quo is not good enough.
“Over the summer, legislators and experts now need to build on this work before President von der Leyen sets out Europe’s approach in September.”
She said that “Ireland should move with Europe.”
“Together, we can set strong age rules, force platforms to design safer products and put the responsibility back where it belongs: on the companies building the systems our children use every day.
“The time for simply asking social media companies to do better is over. It is time for legislators to act.”