Social media from age 14? State leaders increase pressure on experts

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The debate about the protection of children and adolescents in the digital world is increasingly becoming a battle of direction in network policy. Concrete demands for bans are increasing, finding resonance across the major people's parties. Above all, the state chancellories in the north are now increasing pressure on the federal government to abandon its previous restraint and legally regulate access to platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook.

The Expert Commission on Child and Youth Protection in the Digital World, established by the federal government in autumn 2025, is intended to provide the scientific basis for future laws. However, its results are not expected until summer.

Schwesig demands speed

For the Minister-President of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Manuela Schwesig (SPD), this is far too late. The social democrat demands more speed in the Tagesspiegel. Schwesig, who faces a defeat in the state elections in September, points to the drastic content to which minors are exposed daily without protection.

Schwesig receives support from the Christian Democratic camp. Schleswig-Holstein's Minister-President Daniel Günther (CDU) uses even stronger words, speaking of a grave sin that the state has committed by failing to fulfill its protective function in recent years. He sees society standing at an abyss if the unfiltered confrontation with harmful content is not stopped.

"Leads to the abyss"

In an interview with the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland, Günther justified his position with a bleak prognosis for social cohesion: "If we continue as before, without intervening, it will lead our society to the abyss."

The substantive drafts already discussed go beyond mere age limits and interfere with the business model of tech giants. A paper by SPD experts proposes a complete ban on the use of social media until the age of 14. For the age group up to 16 years, a mandatory youth version of the networks is to be introduced.

The youth version would have to do without psychologically optimized recommendation algorithms that bind users through endless feeds. Even for adults, the Social Democrats are calling for age controls and for algorithmic systems to be deactivated by default to strengthen digital sovereignty.

Experts doubt

The CDU has adopted a similar line at its Stuttgart party congress and included the minimum age of 14 in its program. In contrast, there is criticism from associations such as the German Children's Fund. According to them, excluding young people from digital participation through blanket bans could create new injustices.

Furthermore, the legal hurdle remains high. Researchers doubt whether such a profound encroachment on the freedom of information of young people would hold up constitutionally. The expert commission must now bridge the gap between effective youth protection and the fundamental rights of all parties involved in the networked world.

(mma)