Politicians from government and opposition parties have shown differing views on a proposed EU ban on social media for under-15s.
New legislation proposed by the European Commission will go before the European Parliament.
Under the legislation, people under the age of 15 will be prevented from setting up a social media account, there will be a ban on addictive features such as infinite scrolling and “excessive” notifications, and age verification for new social media accounts will become mandatory (among other measures).
Fine Gael MEP Regina Doherty said that “the EU is finally taking serious action to protect children online.”
“It has listened to parents and experts and developed a plan that can have a lasting impact on future generations.”
“Children are spending hours glued to their phones while parents are left fighting billion-euro technology companies and powerful algorithms alone. That has to end,” she said.
The Dublin MEP said that the legislation “places responsibility on the companies designing these platforms and profiting from their attention.”
“The age limit of 15 will grab the headlines, but safety by design is the real breakthrough. Platforms will have to prove they are safe for children. No more launching dangerous features first and apologising later,” she said.
“A child’s attention should not be a product for Big Tech to sell. Infinite scrolling, relentless notifications and algorithms pushing more extreme content are not accidents. They are deliberate design choices,” Doherty stated.
Social Democrats TD Sineád Gibney said that while European action on the issue is welcome, it is “watered down.”
“While we have yet to see full details of the proposal, Europe seems to have learned from the failures of the Australian ban, and may have been emboldened by the success of the US legal cases that cited addictive design as an issue,” the Dublin Rathdown TD noted.
“I am still of the view that priority should be attached to dealing with algorithms and the addictive nature of these platforms as part of any new measures,” Gibney said, who worked for as head of social action for Google prior to her career in politics.
“It’s regrettable that, both at EU level and domestically, we are only dealing with this now when we know that newer risks and issues coming from AI have already overtaken us. These challenges will require entirely new solutions.”
Gibney said that the age verification process raises privacy concerns, and warned that scammers could target user documentation.
“Another reality is that parental consent can sometimes be difficult to obtain when you are dealing with the 13-15 age group,” she noted.
“Any measures taken at EU level to reduce online harm to children is a positive step in the right direction. But age verification in and of itself is not a silver bullet solution to a complex problem,” the Soc Dems media spokesperson said.
In recent weeks, Facebook has agreed to pay an $18 billion fine, and restrict access of their products to youths after a court ruling in the United States.
The ruling, dubbed Big Tech’s answer to the “Big Tobacco Moment” where tobacco companies were finally reined in by regulators, has led to hopes that social media giants can finally be taken to task.
Noeline Blackwell, online safety co-ordinator with the Children’s Right Alliance, said that the settlement is an example of world governments holding the cards against Big Tech.
“The additional restrictions, the time limits, the filters ban and night-time blocks are all positive for children and young people,” Blackwell said, but said recommender algorithms need to be tackled, a measure that is not present in the European Commission’s recommendations.