Amnesty International has welcomed new recommendations from the European Union’s Special Panel on Child Safety Online, which call for stronger action to address the harmful design of social media platforms rather than imposing blanket bans on teenagers’ access to social media.
Responding to the report, Lisa Dittmer, Amnesty International’s Researcher and Adviser on Children’s and Young People’s Digital Rights, said the panel correctly recognized that children should be able to participate in a safe online environment. She argued that the responsibility for protecting young users lies with technology companies, which should redesign social media platforms and artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots to eliminate addictive and manipulative features that may harm children’s rights and well-being.
The expert panel rejected a blanket ban on social media use for older teenagers and stated that any national restrictions on users over the age of 13 should only be considered as temporary measures and remain subject to ongoing evaluation. Instead, the report emphasizes the importance of age-appropriate platform design that reflects children’s evolving capacities and their right to participate safely in digital spaces.
The recommendations also call for children, civil society organizations, and independent researchers to play a meaningful role in assessing online safety measures and evaluating whether digital platforms effectively reduce risks for young users.
Amnesty International urged EU institutions and member states to prioritize the implementation of existing digital regulations, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Digital Services Act, the AI Act, and the forthcoming Digital Fairness Act. The organization said stronger enforcement of these frameworks would provide a more effective and rights-based approach to online child protection than broad access bans.
The European Commission established the expert panel to help develop a rights-based strategy for child safety online. The recommendations released today are expected to inform the European Union’s future digital policy on protecting children and young people in online environments.
The debate comes as several countries consider introducing age-based restrictions on social media use. Australia became the first country to adopt legislation banning social media access for children under 16 in 2025, while France is seeking to implement a ban for users under 15 by September 2026. However, the European Commission has indicated that aspects of the proposed French legislation may conflict with existing EU law.
