Protection for children: Federal Minister of Justice: Clear age limit for social media

From the perspective of Federal Minister of Justice Stefanie Hubig, clear rules for the use of social media are important for growing up without stress and bullying. “Children and adolescents take protection instead of self-portrayal pressure,” said the SPD politician of the German Press Agency.

A clear and above all effective age limit for the use of social media protect children in their privacy and also promote healthy development. According to the minister, this would also be a relief for parents, who would then no longer have to discuss their activities on social media every day.

Initial experiences – also in other countries – indicated that such a restriction has a positive effect on children and adolescents in schools. There there are “less bullying, more concentration, more social cooperation”.

Expert commission in the coalition agreement agreed

In the coalition agreement, the CDU, CSU and SPD have agreed to use an expert commission in order to examine the effects of digital media on children and adolescents. Hubig said that she supported Federal Minister of Education Karin Prien (CDU) in her endeavor to quickly find ahead here. Prien had recently spoken out several times for a legally anchored age verification.

In several European countries there are already cell phone bans at primary schools, although the rules are very different. The topic of a more effective review of the age of users of social media is currently also being discussed at EU level.