Recommendations from the European “Special Panel on Child Safety Online”: Hold Platforms Accountable Instead of Excluding Young People

On July 13, 2026, Jörg M. Fegert and Maria Melchior, the co-chairs of the “Special Panel on Children’s Online Safety” established by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, presented their report on the protection of young people in the digital world. In general, the recommendations are similar to those of the expert commissions at the national level¹, but they are more explicit regarding a blanket age limit: Young people under the age of 13 should no longer have independent access to social media and other digital services with risky features, in accordance with a uniform European standard.

The blanket ban on access to social media and other digital services with risky features or content for young people under 13 can be further tightened by member states through stricter age limits. This explicitly leaves open the possibility of disproportionate exclusion, even for older adolescents. Temporary access to age-appropriate content should only be permitted with parental consent and supervision or in educational contexts.

Blanket bans fall short

The Bundesjugendring continues to reject these blanket age limits. It is crucial that platforms be held accountable where services or individual features pose specific risks to children and adolescents. Blanket age limits constitute a disproportionate infringement on young people’s right to participation.

The report itself describes how protection can be approached in a more nuanced way: through regulation, media education, and support for critical media use, as well as through “safety by design,” age-appropriate default settings, and possible restrictions on risky features. However, such age-graded protective measures must not exclude young people from digital participation through overblocking. A risk-based differentiation of potential regulation must therefore be negotiated with the involvement of young people.

Holding Providers Accountable

Another key demand of the report is to strengthen the enforcement of existing European rules. The relevant regulatory authorities should collaborate more closely in applying the Digital Services Act, the General Data Protection Regulation, the AI Act, and other legal instruments, and be adequately resourced. This also includes ensuring that providers take responsibility for limiting endless scrolling, autoplay, problematic recommendation systems, and unwanted contact before young people gain access.

The Bundesjugendring has long called for a consistent and data-protection-compliant implementation of the Digital Services Act. Its provisions for the protection of minors and the mitigation of systemic risks must be fully utilized before new barriers to access are created through blanket age limits.

In addition to social networks, the report also covers app stores, video games, video platforms, and AI companions. Broadening the perspective to encompass the full reality of young people’s digital lives is fundamentally welcome. However, without a binding definition of these “Social Media+” services, a gap emerges that could lead to further restrictions on young people’s opportunities for participation. Services that vary greatly must not be subject to the same blanket access restrictions.

Ensuring Participation and Enforcing Existing Law

The report itself calls for young people to be involved in shaping laws, policy measures, and evaluations. The Special Committee’s working process falls short of its own standards: Young people’s participation in the report was neither transparent nor age-appropriate. For future policy steps, therefore, the following must apply: Young people and their democratically legitimate advocacy groups must be involved early on, on an ongoing basis, and in accordance with the quality standards for child and youth participation.

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[1] The DBJR’s statement on the recommendations for action from the Expert Commission on the Protection of Children and Youth in the Digital World can be found here: https://www.dbjr.de/en/article/implementing-child-and-youth-protection-in-the-digital-world-in-a-youth-friendly-manner-statement-on-the-recommendations-for-action