What began as an initiative to reinforce digital safety for minors is rapidly evolving into one of the most ambitious—and potentially controversial—regulatory reforms of the European digital space. Denmark, Slovenia, and Cyprus have joined the plan launched by Spain, France, and Greece to establish a common minimum age across the European Union (EU) for minors to access social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, or X.
The proposal will be officially presented this Friday, June 6th, at the EU Telecommunications Council in Luxembourg. While no specific age has yet been proposed for the overall EU regulation, in. France, one of the promoters of the EU-wide reform, already in 2023 banned access to social media for children under 15 without parental consent, and Spain is working on a law to raise that threshold to 16. The stated goal is to shield minors from the psychological and social risks associated with these platforms.
As part of the broader strategy, the European Commission is developing a mobile application allowing users to verify whether they are over 18, without disclosing their exact age. This tool, now in pilot phase and set for launch in July, includes participation from Spain, France, Greece, Denmark, and Italy. The initiative is linked to Digital Services Act (DSA) obligations, which aim to limit minors’ exposure to inappropriate content and prevent their interaction with unknown users.
It is hard to ignore, however, that the proposal emerges at a time when Europe’s youth is turning more and more to the right. In Spain, for example, the sovereigntist VOX party currently leads among voters under 25, with 27.4% support, according to the 40dB Barometer. In France, Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National was the most voted party in the 2024 European elections, with support among under-35s exceeding 30%. In Germany, Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) polls between 15% and 20% among under-30s, improving significantly on its 2019 results.
Far from being anecdotal, these figures reveal a generational shift in which social media has become a space for entertainment and a forum for political awareness, ideological formation, and access to sources of information beyond the mainstream. Implementing mandatory verification systems could significantly reshape this space, potentially limiting its use by a demographic beginning to challenge the consensus.
