Two European Parliament committees held a joint public hearing on Tuesday (4 November) to discuss the protection challenges and further measures to help children be safe in digital environments.
This hearing was a joint effort between the Internal Market and Consumer Protection committee (IMCO) and the Committee on Petitions (PETI), and invited experts to talk with MEPs about the real risks kids face and possible solutions after increased pressure to help.
“The concerns we hear really prompt us in the European institutions to safeguard and protect vulnerable children and adolescents” said Ewa Kopacz, the parliament coordinator on children's rights. "It is up to us adults to protect minors not only in the streets but online as well."
The EU is pushing to find solutions to the harms children face online, as studies continue to highlight risks, and at least five citizen petitions have added pressure on MEPs to address the problem.
Currently the suggested EU-wide solutions include age-verification, minimum social media age requirements, and addictive design adjustments.
The European Commission representative, Julia Van Best, highlighted that for their part, under the 2024 Digital Services Act, platforms must take measures to ensure the safety of minors. The commission has published guidelines outlining measures platforms should take to protect children, and are actively investigating platforms for breaches.
Priscille Kulczyk, legal expert and associate researcher at the European Centre for Law and Justice applied the need for protection directly to the risks between pornography and minors — which is a major, and increasing, cause of digital harm.
"Their brains are still developing. So for physiological reasons in particular, for example, sensitivity to dopamine, the damage can be profound and the consequences extremely serious."
Kulczyk highlighted age-verification as a crucial step, adding that many children first come across porn accidentally, and even if children can get around age-verification, "at least the fact that you have an age-verification setup stops accidental exposure to porn for the youngest and most vulnerable."
However, she concluded, "legislation is not enough. Genuine awareness amongst the population needs to be raised with public health policies, prevention, strong family measures, and support for parents on these issues."
On 16 October, the IMCO committee adopted its own recommendations on the issue, calling for a social media and AI platform to have a minimum age of 16, changes to how influencers can operate, a ban on gambling mechanics and addictive algorithms for minors, and stronger enforcement of regulations.
These ideas were echoed by Urs Buscke, senior legal officer at The European Consumer Organisation, but he urged lawmakers to make protections applicable to all citizens, not just children.
Buscke connected addictive design, influencer marketing, and gambling mechanics as risks to everyone, calling on the proposed Digital Fairness Act (DFA) to protect all ages.
"Most importantly the DFA should increase the protection, not only for children, but for all consumers. Because unfair commercial practices are affecting consumers of all ages," said Buscke.
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Owen Carpenter-Zehe is a junior reporter from the US at EUobserver, covering European politics.
Owen Carpenter-Zehe is a junior reporter from the US at EUobserver, covering European politics.