France claims victory on EU online child protection guidelines

France believes its recent – and very public – intervention in the online child protection debate has won the day, as it says the Commission's new guidelines on the topic will now pave the way for it to ban social media for kids under 15.

On Monday, the Commission unveiled much-anticipated guidelines for protecting minors online, as part of the Digital Services Act (DSA).

The initiative has drawn significant attention and backing from EU countries, industry, and children's rights groups, many of which have already set out their own positions in anticipation of the official DSA guidelines.

A French-led movement of EU countries seeking to ban social media for kids under 15 believes its position has been affirmed in the final Commission guidelines – a shift from an earlier draft, released in May, which did not clarify this issue.

"The European Commission has just confirmed the possibility for Member States to ban social networks for those under a certain age," French President Emmanuel Macron wrote in a triumphant post on X on Monday evening.

"This marks an important victory for France," added the country's digital minister, Clara Chappaz, in a press release which also stated that the guidelines have paved the way for banning social media for kids.

Choose your own digital majority

The final guidelines allow member countries to set their own so-called "digital majority" age, instead of establishing one at the EU level. On Monday, Tech Commissioner Henna Virkkunen said that creating an EU-wide digital majority is not possible due to "different cultures" and "differences between member states."

Danish Minister for Digital Affairs, Caroline Stage Olsen, who on Monday presented the guidelines alongside Virkkuen, stressed that age verification is "absolutely essential" – referencing the Commission’s prototype age verification tool, which could underpin country-specific apps capable of restricting content deemed inappropriate for children.

EU lawmaker Christel Schaldemose, who is currently finalising a Parliamentary report on the protection of minors, also welcomed the Commission approach – saying she's "particularly glad that Member States retain the flexibility to implement their own age verification systems for social media."

However, she added that she would still like the Commission to adopt a "more ambitious stand on age verification" for social media platforms.

Children's rights groups also welcomed the guidelines. Manon Baert, from the 5Rights Foundation, said they "have the potential to make a real difference for children across Europe", adding: "Now companies must deliver."

But industry representatives are unhappy, with tech lobbies warning that allowing EU countries to decide their own digital majority age risks fragmentation.

"The door is still open for national laws, which is disappointing," said DOT Europe, a Brussels-based association representing Big Tech.

Meta, which has lobbied strongly for an EU-wide digital age majority alongside enhanced parental controls, also cautioned against introducing varying rules across countries.

(nl, aw)