Lower Saxony Minister of Education Urges Age Limit for Social Media

The Lower Saxony Minister of Education, Julia Willie Hamburg, is calling for an age limit of 14 years for using social media. Hamburg's statement comes at the same time as the presentation of a petition by the parents' initiative SmarterStartAb14 on November 10th, which, however, demands a minimum age of 16 years for social media use. The petition had found more than 30,000 supporters at the beginning of the year. Heise online was able to conduct an interview with the initiative before the appointment in the Bundestag.

In addition to the age limit, Hamburg is calling for effective age verification, as the dpa reports: "Because there is hardly a child who has not yet been exposed to massive violence videos, pornography, and misanthropic, extremist statements in the fifth or sixth grade. The schools report this to us. We must therefore ask ourselves how we can protect our children." Parents should be able to tell their children with a clear conscience: "Where you are on the internet, you are protected." According to Hamburg, there is a "stark discrepancy" between what children experience online and how they are otherwise protected. This must finally change: "We would never allow children to watch horror movies on TV or go to a casino. But on the net, everything is allowed."

Regarding smartphone bans in schools, Hamburg has recently shown less decisiveness. While the Lower Saxony CDU called for a mobile phone ban up to the upper secondary level at its state party conference in August, the red-green state government is instead relying on recommendations for schools, based on which they are to decide on the handling of mobile devices themselves. In May of this year, Minister Hamburg also spoke out against unilateral actions by the states regarding mobile phone bans and would prefer to work towards nationwide uniform recommendations.

Drug Commissioner Streeck also in favor of bans

The Federal Government's Drug Commissioner, Hendrick Streeck (CDU), also spoke out last week in favor of social media restrictions for adolescents. He suggested tiered age limits, comparable to the FSK (German age rating system for films). At the same time, Streeck remained critical of a general social media ban for those under 16: "Digital media are part of young people's lives – you can't just ignore them." Instead, it is necessary to strengthen digital participation, media literacy, and informational self-determination so that young people learn to critically evaluate content and develop their own opinions.

(kbe)