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Germany’s Minister for Digital Affairs Karsten Wildberger has expressed support for introducing legal age restrictions on children’s access to social media, citing concerns over the platforms’ impact on young people’s development.
Speaking to the German Press Agency (dpa) on Friday, Wildberger emphasized that any restrictions should be based on scientific research to determine an appropriate minimum age. “I see many advantages in this. The issue of age limits is more than justified,” he said, noting the importance of fostering healthy development in children.
Wildberger highlighted Australia’s recent legislation, which bans children under 16 from creating or maintaining accounts on major social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, X, Threads, Reddit and Twitch.
“Now the question is: how do we enable children to develop healthily, as previous generations did without social media?” he added.
Germany has established a government-appointed expert commission on Child and Youth Protection in the Digital World, tasked with assessing issues such as age limits and mobile phone bans in schools. The commission, which includes specialists in medicine, child psychology, and education, is expected to deliver its recommendations by summer 2026.
Wildberger, who previously headed the technology company MediaMarktSaturn, stressed the importance of allowing children to focus on studies and daily activities without digital distractions.
“Sitting for an hour or two, studying, being attentive and not being distracted by different things is a basic prerequisite for development. We owe it to children to give them this opportunity,” he said, urging policymakers to consider teachers’ perspectives in shaping guidelines.
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