- 23 hours ago
Can a social media ban protect children from online violence and bullying?
In this week’s episode of The Ring, MEPs Axel Voss (EPP) and Christel Schaldemose (Socialists) engage in a deep debate over whether or not a ban on social media for under-16's is a good thing.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/02/04/can-a-social-media-ban-protect-children-from-online-violence-and-bullying
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
In this week’s episode of The Ring, MEPs Axel Voss (EPP) and Christel Schaldemose (Socialists) engage in a deep debate over whether or not a ban on social media for under-16's is a good thing.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/02/04/can-a-social-media-ban-protect-children-from-online-violence-and-bullying
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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NewsTranscript
00:00Hello there and welcome to The Ring, Eury News' debate show from the European Parliament here
00:13in Brussels, where elected members of the European Parliament go head-to-head on the
00:19big issues on their desks. This week, should all EU countries ban social media for under-16s?
00:26Is social media rewiring children's brains and are Spain, France and Denmark leading the way?
00:33Luis Albertus sets the scene.
00:38As children in Europe are growing up in an increasingly digital world, the EU faces a fundamental question.
00:45How should it protect children online?
00:50The debate isn't just about screen time. It's about deciding how far the EU laws should go
00:55and what kind of digital Europe we're building for our children.
01:00Some call for EU-wide rules, age limits, platform accountability and stricture safeguards
01:05to protect children from harmful content and addictive design such as infinite scrolling.
01:13Others warn that heavy-handed regulation risks overreach, infringes on national sovereignty
01:18and could limit children's digital rights and freedoms.
01:23Can Brussels set standards that both protect and empower Europe's children?
01:27Will political divisions prevent the EU from taking decisive action?
01:31The answer may shape the digital lives of a generation that has never lived offline.
01:35The questions that we have for our contenders. Let's meet them.
01:43Cressel Schaldemose, a Danish MEP and a member of the Socialist and Democrats Group.
01:50She's a Vice President of the European Parliament and a long-standing member of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection.
01:57Before entering European politics, she was the Secretary General of the Danish Adult Education Council.
02:02She's best known as the lead rapporteur for the EU's Digital Services Act, which aims to make online platforms more accountable for illegal and harmful content.
02:12What is illegal offline must also be illegal online, she said.
02:17Axel Voss, a German MEP and a member of the European People's Party.
02:21He is a long-standing member of the Committee on Legal Affairs.
02:25Before entering the European Parliament, he worked as a lawyer and legal advisor.
02:28He's best known as the Parliament's lead rapporteur on the EU Copyright Directive, including the rules on online platforms' responsibility for copyrighted content.
02:38We need to stand up against fake news, and we cannot accept for social media platforms to become a legal vacuum, he said.
02:45Christel Shaldomoza and Axel Voss, welcome to The Ring.
02:52The aim here is to give our viewers a real taste of European Parliament debates and voting sessions, so I hope you feel right at home.
02:59Christel, let's start with you, because 483 MEPs voted in favour of more ambitious EU action to protect minors online, including an EU-wide minimum age of 16 for accessing social media.
03:12You were one of them. Give us your reasons why.
03:15I would prefer that it was not necessary, but the thing is that the platforms, the social media we know today, they are honestly not fit for children and young people.
03:25They are faced with murder, suicide, violence, they're being bullied, and if that's not the case, then more than half of the content is also commercialized.
03:35So I don't think that that environment is fit for our children, and since the platforms, they do not do enough themselves to protect our kids against it.
03:45I think that the next step must be to make a ban so that we can make sure that our kids are protected.
03:51I prefer them to be digital, our kids, because that's the future. But we need to protect our kids better.
03:58Do you support a blanket ban? Axel Voss, 92 MEPs voted against this non-binding report, and 86 abstained.
04:04Now, you voted in favour of it, but you're against this idea of a ban on social media for the under-16s. Give us your reasons why.
04:11Yes, so, exclusion does not mean really protection. And this is something where I would say we need to go beyond this first step, what we have agreed on.
04:24And still, miners can circumvent the ban easily and just taking the wrong age. We should more focus on the content and the platform instead of the age.
04:37Is that not a valid point, Crystal? Because, of course, you know, we have bans when it comes to smoking and accessing alcohol.
04:45You could be asked for your ID, but, you know, miners always get away around that.
04:48Yeah, but not all of them. And we are signalizing to the kids and young people what we think is acceptable and what is not.
04:56But I also think that what we do here, if we could make a pan-European ban on entering social media before the age of 16, is also for the platforms.
05:06Because they could have prevented kids from meeting this content, but they're not doing enough.
05:10And since they're not doing enough, we need to do something.
05:13So, yes, you can always bypass, but not for the big numbers. And we are sending a signal to the young people and kids that we don't think that what is online and what is on there is good.
05:26And can I add, because, Axel, I think that you're right when it comes to a lot of content. It would be better.
05:32But on the other hand, then we are also faced with discussions about are we compromising freedom of speech if we as politicians say what we allow and what we're not allowed to be online.
05:44So I think the best way, the easiest way to protect is to make a full blown ban.
05:49Crystal has a point there. The big companies, the big tech companies are not listening or taking Brussels and the regulators seriously.
05:57No, that's why we should focus on this platform and saying what is correct and what is not correct.
06:03So and also focusing on the content, we need to give them a guideline, what is right and what is wrong. And then we might move forward.
06:13And of course, we should have in focus these platforms in finding them or even going beyond this.
06:22But when you give guidelines to the likes of Elon Musk, the billionaire, he sends a tweet saying the EU must be abolished.
06:28Yeah, then I'm sorry. You should leave the market.
06:31Elon Musk should leave the market?
06:33Yes.
06:34Do you agree with that? And how do you push a billionaire out of the market and the Tesla owner?
06:38If the platforms they don't want to comply with the rules we have in the EU, they are free to skip the European market.
06:44We have the rules we have in the EU and if they don't want to comply, it's their case.
06:48But I still believe that our kids are faced with a lot of problematic content.
06:54And not just that, also the design of the platforms are not good for kids.
07:00They spend too much time there. We know that women, girls around 14, the age of 14, they spend more than three hours.
07:09But in average, even five, six hours on a daily basis on these platforms where they are formed.
07:15Their views on the world is put in there not from parents, not from schools, not from civil society, but from a business, a commercial business.
07:25And I also think that we need to consider that as well.
07:27And the data backs up what you're saying, Crystal, eight in 10 teens are checking their devices hourly.
07:32And according to a Eurobarometer, nine in 10 Europeans say action to protect children is a matter of urgency.
07:39And it's easier to introduce a ban than it is to crack down on the content.
07:43Yeah, of course, the addiction is very obvious.
07:46And that's why we should focus on the content at first, but also on the algorithms.
07:54So we should also control or have a kind of a specific approach on these algorithms who are using these addiction, who are using these dark patterns.
08:05That's why I think a ban is better right now.
08:08In principle, I think your idea is probably the best in principle, but in reality, it's so difficult to do.
08:17Look at the European Parliament right now.
08:19We would not even be able to agree on what is good content and what is bad content.
08:23So we would end up doing nothing to protect our kids because the platforms Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg and all the others who owns these platforms,
08:31they don't want to protect our kids because if they want to do it, they had already done it.
08:36And you don't have the luxury of time here in the Parliament either to take years to decide?
08:40No.
08:41No, but if you're looking to the whole world and to the Internet Governance Forum,
08:47the whole world is looking for measures in protecting the younger generations for these mental health,
08:55also another problem, democratic problem.
08:58But we need to do here something and we can also go together with other states in the world so that we have a broader negotiation part against all these.
09:09And you mentioned other states in the world.
09:11We understand that Ursula von der Leyen is planning a trip to Australia very soon.
09:14That's of course on trade, but it's likely social media and their ban will also come up.
09:18And that is very interesting because I'm following that debate as well and they have started now.
09:23And we have already seen that they have closed accounts for millions of kids in Australia.
09:28And I think we have to look and see how they fix, you know, the bypass problem.
09:33But also does this really mean a better mental health?
09:37Does it really mean that we protect our kids?
09:39And if that's the case, I think really we should learn.
09:41So I'm curious about it. I'm going to follow it.
09:44And I'm very hopeful that Ursula von der Leyen also brings back good ideas from Australia.
09:49It seems to be working, even though I have been reading some parents are helping their children circumvent the rules.
09:56Yeah, but you can see already in Australia that they are circumvented.
10:01And so the protection is not at all in this generation.
10:05So that's why we need to go beyond these.
10:08And that's why I also would say we need to think how we can support or even improve the DSA, the Digital Services Act,
10:20because this is only focusing on illegal content and not harmful content.
10:26And that's why we need to go beyond this anyway.
10:29Well, that's not completely correct, because we are also saying that if there is a systemic risk
10:34for things like disinformation, misinformation, but also hate speech, then the platforms need to risk mitigate.
10:41So they need to do something not just for minors, but we are also in the DSA, the Digital Services Act.
10:47We have an article, Article 28, and I will not be technical, but on that we have guidelines.
10:51It's about how we can protect kids. And the wording is quite clear.
10:56We need to have a very high level of protection. And that does not exist today.
11:00And since the platforms have done nothing at all to protect our kids, I think, to start with, maybe not in five years, maybe not in ten years,
11:09but here and now we need to send a very crystal clear signal. Our kids, they are not protected.
11:14And therefore, a ban is a way forward, even though we know that a percentage will probably bypass.
11:20Are you still not convinced?
11:22No, not really. It's a first step. It's a soft approach.
11:26But if we would like to achieve the goal for the mental health of our next generation, then we need to go beyond and we need to be more stricter.
11:36But let me stop you there as we are just getting warmed up.
11:44So now it's time for you both to direct each other just like you do in the hemicycle. So Crystal, ladies first.
11:50Yeah. But, Mr. Foss, I know that you've been working in this area for very, very long on digital questions.
11:57And in many ways, I don't think we disagree. However, you don't want to have this ban.
12:03But yet you have suggested that we should have age verification so that we need to verify which age people have before they enter the social media.
12:13Why should that matter if you don't want to have an age limit for entering social media?
12:19So why do you want to have age verification without having an age limit?
12:22Yeah. So age verification might only be one step, but of course, we need also the competence of kids to get a feeling for algorithms, for digital, for the digital world.
12:36And so this is not the best thing to move forward. So the balance and even better in focusing on the content, because this is affecting the content is also affecting younger generations beyond 16 or whatever.
12:55So this is not really something where we can influence a lot content wise. We should more concentrate and say what should be in and what should be out.
13:07But the thing is that discussing about the content does in the present climate we have in Brussels and EU right now mean that would mean that we do nothing because we cannot agree about what is good content and what is bad content.
13:22And that's why I'm in favor of the ban, because we will not be able to maybe you and I could agree, but I'm not sure that we could agree with the far right or the far left.
13:30So there I think we need we need to have something. So why should we do a reaction to that? And then you can pose your first question.
13:36Yes. So then you have to make very sure that the circumventing is not happening.
13:43And here we need probably to do a kind of a more intensive identification tool.
13:50And this again gives clear names or clear birthdays and so on. This is something what we need then to do in addition to something like this.
14:03But I have to follow up because I understand the bypass or circumvening thing.
14:08Yeah. But we also have bans, age limits on alcohol. And we also know that young people get access to alcohol.
14:15Shouldn't we then not have a ban? Shouldn't we have an age limit on that? Because also there we see that they are circumvening the rules.
14:22Yeah. But there is no digital alcohol in a way or digital alcohol is more the addictive design for algorithms.
14:32And this is something what we need to tackle. And the analog addictive, this is a different story because online everything is possible.
14:45But Mr. Voss, it is time for you to pose your first question.
14:47Yeah, I would like to return this question. So in the report, you especially want to ban the social media use.
14:55But how we then tackle the problem of the same content appearing somewhere else.
15:02And this is something where I would say that's why it is not helpful.
15:08Banning of kids instead of banning of content.
15:11But if you talk about what people, young people, kids are watching, for instance, on television, if they still watch old fashioned television,
15:19very often you sit next to your parents and have an ability to discuss with them.
15:25What is it you're seeing? What does that mean? Is that the real world? How does it work?
15:29When you're on social media, you are completely on your own and no one is really helping you or following you.
15:35And that's why it's so much more important that we do this to protect kids because in the offline, in the analog world,
15:41you are better protected because you have people around you.
15:44But online kids are more intelligent than the parents, so they know how to come to what they have in mind instead of the parents.
15:56Would you agree with that?
15:57But does that mean with your point of view here, Mr. Valls, that we should we shouldn't care because we cannot do anything anyway.
16:03And there are more, of course, kids understand quite a lot about how technical things works online.
16:10But should we then just give up and say that the Internet should be a forum where nothing is banned,
16:15where not where everything is legal, even a child pornography, etc.
16:19You know, I think that what is illegal offline should also be illegal online.
16:23But we shouldn't have in mind that the problem is solved with this.
16:27No, we should have another approach on it.
16:31I don't think that everything is solved, but I think we can take a huge step in the direction of protecting our kids.
16:38So that's the view from our MEPs. We'd also love to hear your view.
16:41You always can write to us here at TheRingAtYourNews.com.
16:44But it is now time to bring in a new voice.
16:51I would like to bring in the voice of the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez,
16:55who said this week that Spain would ban social media for under-16s in legislation that could be introduced as soon as next week.
17:02Speaking at the World Government Summit this week in Dubai, Pedro Sánchez said,
17:07social media has become a failed state where laws are ignored and crimes are tolerated.
17:13We will protect them from the digital wild west.
17:16We will change the law to hold executives accountable for illegal and hateful content.
17:21So, Axel, what did you think of this announcement that created a bit of a storm in Dubai and Qatar as well,
17:27where the tech summit was taking place?
17:29So, I'm more than less on that line. I would agree. That's why I would suggest we need to think about content.
17:39I know it's extremely difficult what content is okay and what not, but on use cases we can draw this line.
17:51But the momentum is there. We saw this announcement from Spain. France has introduced or is planning on introducing a ban for under-15s.
17:57Greece, Denmark, Ireland is also contemplating.
18:00That's true. Right now in the whole of the EU we're discussing this and we're discussing it for good reasons
18:06because we see that our kids are faced with things online that they shouldn't be able to see.
18:11And we have tried other ways and it doesn't work. So, that's why a lot of governments think that this could be the next step.
18:17And I also think that if we don't do it at EU level, but allow individual member states, then there's also a risk that we fragment the internal market.
18:25Indeed, but we have a patchwork of different laws and then, you know, it could face a lot of legal battles.
18:30Is it not better just to have a blanket EU ban?
18:32And that's why we in the European Parliament and a big majority did in fact suggest an EU ban, a pan-European ban.
18:40It's easier and it would cover and protect all our kids in EU, even though even though we know that, of course, some of them will bypass the ban.
18:48But we still believe that that's the best and easiest way here now to protect them.
18:53And to go back to Elon Musk, his ears might be burning because we mentioned him already.
18:57He called Pedro Sanchez, the Prime Minister of Spain, a traitor and a tyrant also for these comments and a fascist.
19:05No, no. So, we in Europe would like to link values with technology.
19:13And that's why we can't really allow every content on platforms at all.
19:19But if these tech billionaires that run these websites, if they don't have values like we do, what do you do then?
19:25If you are not interested in align with our values and what we have written in the DSA and DMA and so on, please leave the market.
19:34Well, of course, there's also that investigation underway by the Commission when it comes to Grok.
19:38That's the XAI chat box. We're waiting to hear more from Elon Musk and from X on that.
19:44But it is time now to take a short break here on The Ring.
19:47Stay with us. We'll be back very, very soon with some more political punch from the European Parliament.
20:00Welcome back to The Ring, Eurie News' weekly show.
20:04I'm here in the Parliament, joined by MEPs Axel Voss and Crystal Schaldemose.
20:08And the idea here is to bring Parliament debates to your very sofa.
20:12This week, our guest MEPs are sharing their views on social media bans for under-16s.
20:18But we also love hearing from you.
20:20So we asked Eurie News' office Madrid to talk to locals and ask them if a social media ban is a good idea. Take a look.
20:27Today, everyone, what they see, what they see or what they see or what they see or what they see or what they see.
20:33And sometimes it can affect both the self-esteem and the feeling of that child.
20:39Because that child has not developed that mature.
20:44I think they are not trained and I think it's a good measure.
20:49Well, I think that maybe it was a bit strong.
20:52Maybe it would be good to have some restrictions for the minority.
20:56But prohibiting them as such, I think it's a bit strong.
20:59What bad is that a lot of people create false profiles.
21:01And they just use them to give their own hate speech without their real identity.
21:07I think Twitter is the most hate and most bad things can be said.
21:12There are just a few opinions from the streets of Madrid.
21:16Your reaction to that?
21:17Clever people in Madrid, I have to say.
21:19And I think they're right in their concerns.
21:21You know, it's not an easy task to take another step in order to protect our kids.
21:27However, I think when you balance everything up, a ban right now for young people and kids under the age of 16
21:37is, in my opinion, the best way to protect them against what we just heard here.
21:40But a ban, of course, is a negative word for young people.
21:43Could we see a backlash from young people?
21:45I'm not sure.
21:48So at first, the younger or the young people know what they are talking about.
21:54And that's why a ban probably wouldn't always fit the situation.
21:58And that's why probably they would, if they would know, to do more about algorithms or also the content.
22:06And what is the debate in Germany, the public debate on this?
22:09Yeah.
22:10Of course, the last time it was has been the exploitation of sexual exploitation of children on X.
22:19And so this is something.
22:21But here I would say it's fitting the same opinions here for Germany.
22:27And we heard there about the fear about X and the hate speech.
22:30Yeah.
22:31But the thing we know from surveys in Denmark that around 94% of kids under the age of 13 is on social media.
22:39So when so when we talk about people knowing the digital world and understanding what they're seeing, I simply don't agree on that.
22:46I mean, if you're 15, you might better understand and you know the techniques and you can you can maybe also know how to approach this and talk to an adult.
22:55But kids, real kids. And that's why, I mean, we need also to understand the depth of this issue.
23:02It is really serious.
23:03And that's the thing, Axel Voss, how do you explain or educate kids who've never lived in a world without digital devices?
23:10This is really tricky.
23:13But all the younger ones who are growing up with these, they have a kind of a natural feeling.
23:21Instead of having a real social life, they have this social life online.
23:27And probably there is a relief if you are just taking the mobile for one hour, two hours away and then they feel more free.
23:38But to come to this point, this is very hard.
23:41We know also in Denmark, we have seen some schools making some tests about how it works when they are taking the phone away from the kids during school day.
23:52And in the beginning, people react very, very angry.
23:55They are angry because they are addicted.
23:57They act like an addicted person.
23:59But after 14 days, the majority of them says, well, this is in fact wonderful.
24:04We are now looking at each other.
24:05We are talking to each other.
24:06We are playing.
24:07So I also think that we are in fact doing something good for the kids, even though they might not understand it to begin with.
24:14If we make them less dependent and make sure that they spend less hours online and make sure that for a part of the content that it's not kept away from them.
24:24And that means they're not being photographed either in the school yard, which is something that a lot of people do not like.
24:29Would you be in favor of this taking mobile phones from school kids during the school day?
24:33Yes, during the school hours.
24:35This ban you're in favor of?
24:36Yes, yes, yes, yes.
24:37So but again, this is not age verification.
24:42This is in general something what I would say this is a good thing, especially also for the concentration in the school.
24:51Well, now it is time to move on to our fifth and final round. Are you ready?
24:58So now it is time for something a little bit different. I'm going to ask our MEPs a set of questions and you're only allowed answer with yes or no.
25:09Is that doable?
25:10Oh, for a politician?
25:12It's difficult because we will try to manage.
25:15Wonderful. Are you a social media user? Yes or no?
25:18Yes.
25:19Yes.
25:20Are you addicted to social media, Axel Voss? Yes or no?
25:24Totally not.
25:25No, not at all.
25:27Is social media harmful to children under 16, Axel Voss? Yes or no?
25:31Yes.
25:32Yes.
25:33Is social media harmful not just to teens, but to society in general, Mr. Voss?
25:38Yes.
25:39Also here I have to agree, yes.
25:41Are parents responsible for their children's social media usage, Mr. Voss?
25:46I would say yes.
25:48Yes, to a very large extent, but not completely.
25:51And is Big Tech responsible for the mental health crisis we're experiencing today?
25:55Exactly. Also, they have a huge responsibility for what the content, which user are seeing which content.
26:02Yes.
26:03Are they aware of this responsibility?
26:05I don't think so.
26:06They are very well aware, but they earn a lot of money and that's why they do it.
26:10And should governments control kids' social media use? Yes or no?
26:14No, not really. So, no.
26:17This is precisely where you both disagree.
26:19Yes, when it comes to when they are allowed to enter social media.
26:23Are you on Twitter?
26:24I'm on X, yes. And I have to say that I'm addicted to using my phone, but not necessarily social media.
26:32Are you on TikTok?
26:33No, but X, Insta and Facebook.
26:37Should we ban social media usage from the European Parliament?
26:40No.
26:41No.
26:42No.
26:43And something general. Is the future of the European Union bright for our young people watching today?
26:49I hope brighter, but it is difficult times, but we can help them have a brighter future if we help them stay away from social media.
26:57Yes.
26:58The future is bright Axel Voss and Crystal Shalda Moise. Thank you so much for being with us here.
27:03Did anything change your mind from what you heard today?
27:06No, not really. I agree on a fundamental level, but we need to do more.
27:13Well, I still believe that a ban is here and now the best and easiest quick fix.
27:17Thank you so much for joining us today on The Ring and being our guest and sharing your insights with us.
27:22And thank you so much for tuning in. As I said earlier, the ring at Euronews.com.
27:27That is our email address. But for now, thank you so much for tuning in.
27:30Take care and see you very soon here on Euronews.
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