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¿Puede la prohibición de las redes sociales proteger a los niños de la violencia y el acoso online?
En el episodio de esta semana de The Ring, los eurodiputados Axel Voss (PPE) y Christel Schaldemose (Socialistas) se enzarzan en un profundo debate sobre si la prohibición de las redes sociales a los menores de 16 años es algo positivo o no.
MÁS INFORMACIÓN : http://es.euronews.com/2026/02/06/puede-la-prohibicion-de-las-redes-sociales-proteger-a-los-ninos-de-la-violencia-y-el-acoso
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En el episodio de esta semana de The Ring, los eurodiputados Axel Voss (PPE) y Christel Schaldemose (Socialistas) se enzarzan en un profundo debate sobre si la prohibición de las redes sociales a los menores de 16 años es algo positivo o no.
MÁS INFORMACIÓN : http://es.euronews.com/2026/02/06/puede-la-prohibicion-de-las-redes-sociales-proteger-a-los-ninos-de-la-violencia-y-el-acoso
¡Suscríbete a nuestro canal! Euronews está disponible en 12 idiomas
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00:00Hola y bienvenidos a The Ring, Eury News debate show from the European Parliament here in Brussels
00:15where elected members of the European Parliament go head-to-head on the big issues on their desks.
00:21This 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 Albertos sets the scene.
00:39As children in Europe are growing up in an increasingly digital world, the EU faces a fundamental question.
00:46How 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.
00:56And what kind of digital Europe we're building for our children.
01:01Some call for EU-wide rules, age limits, platform accountability and stricture safeguards to protect children from harmful content
01:09and addictive design such as infinite scrolling.
01:14Others warn that heavy-handed regulation risks overreach, infringes on national sovereignty
01:19and could limit children's digital rights and freedoms.
01:21Can 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.
01:36The questions that we have for our contenders. Let's meet them.
01:45Christel 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.
01:58Before entering European politics, she was the Secretary General of the Danish Adult Education Council.
02:03She'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.
02:16Axel 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.
02:29He's best known as the Parliament's lead rapporteur on the EU Copyright Directive,
02:33including the rules on online platforms' responsibility for copyrighted content.
02:37We need to stand up against fake news, and we cannot accept for social media platforms to become a legal vacuum, he said.
02:47Christel Schaldemose 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.
03:01Because 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.
03:13You were one of them. Give us your reasons why.
03:15I would prefer that it was not necessary.
03:18But 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 are being bullied.
03:31And if that's not the case, then more than half of the content is also commercialized.
03:36So I don't think that that environment is fit for our children.
03:41And 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.
03:52I prefer them to be digital, our kids, because that's the future.
03:56But we need to protect our kids better.
03:58So you support a blanket ban.
03:59Axel Voss, 92 MEPs voted against this non-binding report and 86 abstained.
04:05Now, you voted in favour of it, but you're against this idea of a ban on social media for the under-16s.
04:11Give us your reasons why.
04:13Yes. So exclusion does not mean really protection.
04:18And this is something where I would say we need to go beyond this first step, what we have agreed on.
04:25And still, miners can circumvent the ban easily and just taking the wrong age.
04:32We should more focus on the content and the platform instead of the age.
04:38Is that not a valid point, Crystal?
04:41Because, 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.
04:49Yeah, but not all of them.
04:50And we are signalizing to the kids and young people what we think is acceptable and what is not.
04:57But 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,
05:05is also for the platforms.
05:07Because they could have prevented kids from meeting this content, but they're not doing enough.
05:11And since they're not doing enough, we need to do something.
05:14So, yes, you can always bypass, but not for the big numbers.
05:20And 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.
05:27And can I add, because, Axel, I think that you're right when it comes to a lot of content.
05:31It would be better.
05:32But on the other hand, then we are also faced with discussions about are we compromising freedom of speech
05:39if we as politicians say what we allow and what we're not allow to be online.
05:45So, I think the best way, the easiest way to protect is to make a full-blown ban.
05:50Crystal has a point there.
05:51The 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.
06:07We need to give them a guideline, what is right and what is wrong.
06:11And then we might move forward.
06:13And, of course, we should have in focus these platforms in fining them or even going beyond this step.
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.
06:29Then, I'm sorry, you should leave the market.
06:32Elon Musk should leave the market?
06:33Yes.
06:34Do you agree with that?
06:35And how do you push a billionaire out of the market and the Tesla owner?
06:39If the platform state don't want to comply with the rules we have in the EU, they are free to skip the European market.
06:45We have the rules we have in the EU, and if they don't want to comply, it's their case.
06:49But I still believe that our kids are faced with a lot of problematic content.
06:55And not just that, also the design of the platforms are not good for kids.
07:01They spend too much time there.
07:03We 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.
07:14Where they are formed, their views on the world is put in there, not from parents, not from schools, not from civil society,
07:22but 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.
07:40And 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.
07:47And that's why we should focus on the content at first, but also on the algorithms.
07:55So we should also control or have a kind of a specific approach on these algorithms who are using these addiction,
08:04who are using these dark patterns.
08:06That's why I think a ban is better right now. In principle, I think your idea is probably the best in principle.
08:15But in reality, it's so difficult to do.
08:18Look at the European Parliament right now.
08:20We would not even be able to agree on what is good content and what is bad content.
08:24So we would end up doing nothing to protect our kids, because the platforms Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg
08:30and all the others who owns these platforms, they don't want to protect our kids,
08:34because if they want to do it, they had already done it.
08:37And you don't have the luxury of time here in the Parliament either to take years to decide.
08:40No, no. But if you're looking to the whole world and to the Internet Governance Forum,
08:48the whole world is looking for measures in protecting the younger generations for these mental health.
08:55There's also another problem, democratic problem.
08:59But we need to do here something, and we can also go together with other states in the world,
09:06so that we have a broader negotiation part against all these platforms.
09:10And you mentioned other states in the world.
09:11We understand that Ursula von der Leyen is planning a trip to Australia very soon.
09:15That's of course on trade, but it's likely social media and their ban will also come up.
09:19And that is very interesting, because I'm following that debate as well, and they have started now.
09:24And we have already seen that they have closed accounts for millions of kids in Australia.
09:29And I think we have to look and see how they fix, you know, the bypass problem.
09:34But also, does this really mean a better mental health?
09:37Does it really mean that we protect our kids?
09:40And if that's the case, I think really we should learn.
09:42So I'm curious about it.
09:43I'm going to follow it.
09:44And I'm very hopeful that Ursula von der Leyen also brings back good ideas from Australia,
09:49because I think we need to do something.
09:51It seems to be working, even though I have been reading some parents are helping
09:54their 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.
10:06So that's why we need to go beyond these.
10:09And that's why I also would say we need to think how we can support or even improve the DSA,
10:19the Digital Services Act, because this is only focusing on illegal content and not harmful content.
10:27And that's why we need to go beyond this anyway.
10:30Well, that's not completely correct, because we are also saying that if there is a systemic risk
10:35for things like disinformation, misinformation, but also hate speech,
10:40then the platforms need to risk mitigate.
10:42So they need to do something not just for minors, but we are also in the DSA,
10:47the Digital Services Act.
10:48We have an article, article 28, and I will not be technical, but on that we have guidelines.
10:52It's about how we can protect kids.
10:55And the wording is quite clear.
10:57We need to have a very high level of protection.
10:59And that does not exist today.
11:01And since the platforms have done nothing at all to protect our kids, I think, to start with,
11:07maybe not in five years, maybe not in 10 years, but here and now, we need to send a very crystal clear
11:12signal.
11:13Our kids, they are not protected, and therefore a ban is a way forward, even though we know that
11:18a percentage will probably bypass.
11:19Are you still not convinced?
11:22No, not really.
11:24It's a first step, it's a soft approach.
11:27But if we would like to achieve the goal for the mental health of our next generation,
11:33then 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.
11:40So now it's time for you both to direct each other, just like you do in the hemicycle.
11:49So Crystal, ladies first.
11:50Yeah, but Mr. Foss, I know that you've been working in this area for very, very long on
11:57digital questions, and in many ways, I don't think we disagree.
12:00However, you don't want to have this ban, but yet you have suggested that we should have age
12:07verification 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?
12:23Yeah, so age verification might only be one step, but of course we need also the competence of kids
12:31to get a feeling for algorithms, for digital, for the digital world. And so this is not the best thing
12:40to move forward. So the balance and even better in focusing on the content, because this is affecting
12:50the content is also affecting younger generations beyond 16 or whatever. So this is not really something
12:59where we can influence a lot. Content wise, we should more concentrate and say what should be in
13:07and what should be out. But the thing is that discussing about the content does in the present climate
13:15we have in Brussels and in the EU right now mean that would mean that we do nothing because we cannot
13:20agree about what is good content and what is bad content. And that's why I'm in favor of the ban,
13:25because we will not be able to, maybe you and I could agree, but I'm not sure that we could agree with the far
13:29right or the far left. So there I think we need to have something. So why shouldn't we do it now?
13:35A reaction to that and then you can pose your first question, Mr. Voss.
13:38Yes, so then you have to make very sure that the circumventing is not happening. And here we need
13:46probably to do a kind of a more intensive identification tool. And this again gives clear
13:54names or clear birthdays and so on. This is something what we need then to do in addition to something
14:02like this. But 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
14:16alcohol. Shouldn't we then not have a ban? Shouldn't we have an age limit on that? Because also there we
14:21see that they are circumvening the rules. Yeah. But there is no digital alcohol in a way or digital
14:27alcohol is more the addictive design for algorithms. And this is something what we need to tackle.
14:35And the analog addictive, this is a different story because online everything is possible.
14:46But Mr. Voss, it is time for you to pose your first question.
14:48Yeah, I would like to return this question. So in the report, you especially want to ban
14:54the social media use. But how we then tackle the problem of the same content appearing somewhere else.
15:03And this is something where I would say that's why it is not helpful. This banning of kids instead
15:10of banning of content. But if you talk about what people, young people, kids are watching, for instance,
15:16on television, if they still watch old fashioned television, very often you sit next to your parents
15:23and have an ability to discuss with them. What is it you're seeing? What does that mean?
15:28Is that the real world? How does it work? When you're on social media, you are completely on your own
15:34and no one is really helping you or following you. And that's why it's so much more important
15:38that we do this to protect kids because in the offline, in the analog world, you are better protected
15:43because you have people around you. But online kids are more intelligent than the parents. So
15:50they know how to come to what they have in mind instead of the parents. Would you agree with that?
15:57No, but does that mean with your point of view here, Mr. Valls, that we should we shouldn't care
16:02because we cannot do anything anyway. And there are more, of course, kids understand quite a lot
16:07about how technical things works online. But should we then just give up and say that the internet
16:13should be a forum where nothing is banned, where everything is legal, even a child pornography, etc.
16:20You 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. No,
16:28we should have another approach on it. I don't think that everything is solved,
16:34but I think we can take a huge step in the direction of protecting our kids.
16:39So 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. But 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
17:01introduced as soon as next week. Speaking at the World Government Summit this week in Dubai,
17:06Pedro Sánchez said social media has become a failed state where laws are ignored and crimes are tolerated.
17:14We will protect them from the digital wild west. We will change the law to hold executives accountable
17:19for illegal and hateful content. So Axel, what did you think of this announcement that created a bit
17:25of a storm in Dubai and Qatar as well, where the tech summit was taking place?
17:30So I'm more than less on that line. I would agree. That's why I would suggest we need to think about
17:39content. I know it's extremely difficult what content is okay and what not. But on use cases,
17:50we can draw this line. But the momentum is there. We saw this announcement from Spain.
17:54France has introduced or is planning on introducing a ban for under-15s. Greece, Denmark, Ireland also
17:59contemplating. That's true. Right now in the whole of EU, we're discussing this and we're discussing it
18:05for good reasons because we see that our kids are faced with things online that they shouldn't
18:10be able to see. And we have tried other ways and it doesn't work. So that's why a lot of governments
18:16think that this could be the next step. And I also think that if we don't do it at EU level, but allow
18:21individual member states, then there's also a risk that we fragment. Indeed, but we have a patchwork of
18:28different laws and then, you know, it could face a lot of legal battles. Is it not better just to have a
18:31blanket EU ban? And that's why we in the European Parliament and a big majority did in fact suggest
18:37an EU ban, a pan-European ban. It's easier and it would cover and protect all our kids in EU,
18:45even though even though we know that, of course, some of them will bypass the ban. But we still
18:49believe that that's the best and easiest way here now to protect them. And to go back to Elon Musk,
18:55his ears might be burning because we mentioned him already. He called Pedro Sanchez, the Prime Minister
19:00of Spain, a traitor and a tyrant also for these comments and a fascist. No, no. So we in Europe
19:10would like to link values with technology. And that's why we can't really allow every content
19:19on platforms at all. But if these tech billionaires that run these websites, if they don't have values
19:24like we do, what do you do then? If you are not interested in align with our values and what we
19:30have written in the DSA and DMA and so on, please leave the market. Well, of course,
19:35there's also that investigation underway by the Commission when it comes to Grok. That's the
19:40XAI chat box. We're waiting to hear more from Elon Musk and from X on that. But it is time now to
19:46take a short break here on The Ring. Stay with us. We'll be back very, very soon with some more
19:50political punch from the European Parliament.
20:01Welcome back to The Ring, Eurie News' weekly show. I'm here in the Parliament joined by MEPs Axel Voss
20:08and Crystal Shaldemosa. And the idea here is to bring Parliament debates to your very sofa.
20:13This week, our guest MEPs are sharing their views on social media bans for under-16s.
20:19But we also love hearing from you. So we asked Eurie News' office Madrid to talk to locals and ask
20:24them if a social media ban is a good idea. Take a look.
20:28Hoy en día pues la gente todo lo que ve pues lo critica o lo tragiversa y a veces solo puede
20:35afectar un poco tanto en el autoestima como el pensamiento de aquel menor ya que aún no
20:41tiene desarrollado ese pensamiento maduro.
20:44Parece bien. Creo que no están formados y creo que es una buena medida.
20:49Bueno, yo creo que tal vez fuese un poco fuerte. Tal vez sería bueno tener algunas restricciones
20:56para los menores, pero prohibirlos como tal me parece una medida un poco fuerte.
20:59Lo malo es que mucha gente se crea perfiles falsos y justamente los usan para dar discursos
21:05de odio sin dar su identidad real. Yo creo que Twitter es el que más odio y más cosas malas se pueden decir.
21:13There are just a few opinions from the streets of Madrid.
21:17¿Your reaction to that, Cristóbal?
21:18Son clever people in Madrid, I have to say, and I think they're right in their concerns.
21:22You know, it's not an easy task to take another step in order to protect our kids.
21:28However, I think when you balance everything up, a ban right now for young people and kids
21:36under the age of 16 is, in my opinion, the best way to protect them against what we just heard here.
21:41But a ban, of course, is a negative word for young people. Could we see a backlash from young people?
21:45I'm not sure. So 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. And that's why probably they would,
22:01if they would know, to do more about algorithms or also the content.
22:07And what is the debate in Germany, the public debate on this?
22:10Yeah, of course, the last time it was has been the exploitation of sexual exploitation of children on X.
22:19And so this is something. But here I would say it's fitting the same opinions here for Germany.
22:28And we heard there about the fear about X and the hate speech.
22:30But the thing we know from surveys in Denmark that around 94% of kids under the age of 13 is on social media.
22:40So when so when we talk about people knowing the digital world and understanding what they're seeing,
22:45I simply don't agree on that. I mean, if you're 15, you might better understand and you know the techniques
22:51and you can you can maybe also know how to approach this and talk to an adult. But kids, real kids.
22:57And that's why, I mean, we need also to understand the depth of this issue. It is really serious.
23:04And that's the thing, Axel Vaz. How do you explain or educate kids who've never lived in a world without digital devices?
23:10This is really tricky. But all the younger ones who are growing up with these, they have a kind of a natural feeling.
23:22Instead of having a real social life, they have this social life online. And probably there is a relief if you are just taking the mobile for one hour,
23:36two hours away and then they feel more free. But to come to this point, this is very hard.
23:42We 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
23:51during school day. And in the beginning, people react very, very angry. They are angry because they are addicted.
23:58They act like an addicted person. But after 14 days, the majority of them says, well, this is in fact wonderful.
24:05We are now looking at each other. We are talking to each other. We are playing.
24:08So I also think that we are in fact doing something good for the kids, even though they might not
24:13understand it to begin with, if we make them less dependent and make sure that they spend less
24:19hours online and make sure that for a part of the content that it's not kept away from them.
24:25And that means they're not being photographed either in the school yard, which is something that a lot of
24:28people do not like. Would you be in favor of this, taking mobile phones from school kids
24:33during the school? Yes, during the school hours. This ban you're in favor of?
24:37Yes, yes, yes, yes. So, but again, this is not age verification. This is in general something
24:45what I would say, this is a good thing, especially also for the concentration in the school.
24:52Well, now it is time to move on to our fifth and final round. Are you ready?
25:00So now it is time for something a little bit different. I'm going to ask our MEPs a set of
25:05questions and you're only allowed answer with yes or no. Is that doable?
25:11Oh, for a politician? It's difficult, but we will try to manage. Wonderful. Are you a social media user,
25:17yes or no? Yes. Yes. Are you addicted to social media, Axel Voss? Yes or no? Totally not.
25:26No, not at all. Is social media harmful to children under 16, Axel Voss? Yes or no? Yes. Yes.
25:33Is social media harmful not just to teens, but to society in general, Mr. Voss? Yes. Also here,
25:40I have to agree, yes. Are parents responsible for their children's social media usage, Mr. Voss?
25:47I would say yes. Yes, to a very large extent, but not completely. And is big tech responsible for the
25:54mental health crisis we're experiencing today? Exactly. Also, they have a huge responsibility
25:59for what the content, which user are seeing which content. Yes. Are they aware of this responsibility?
26:06I don't think so. They are very well aware, but they earn a lot of money and that's why they do it.
26:11And should governments control kids' social media use, yes or no? No, not really. So, no. This is
26:18precisely where you both disagree. Yes, when it comes to when they are allowed to enter social media. Are you
26:24on Twitter? I'm on X, yes. And I have to say that I'm addicted to using my phone, but not necessarily
26:32social media. Are you on TikTok? No, but X, Insta and Facebook. Should we ban social media usage from
26:40the European Parliament? No. No. And something general. Is the future of the European Union bright
26:47for our young people watching today? I hope brighter, but it is difficult times,
26:53but we can help them have a brighter future if we help them stay away from social media. Yes.
26:59The future is bright. Axel Voss and Crystal Shalda Moise. Thank you so much for being with us here.
27:04Did anything change your mind from what you heard today? No, not really. I agree on a fundamental level,
27:11but we need to do more. Well, I still believe that a ban is here and now the best and easiest quick fix.
27:18Thank you so much for joining us today on The Ring and being our guest and sharing your insights with
27:22us. And thank you so much for tuning in. As I said earlier, the ring at Euronews.com. That is our email
27:29address. But for now, thank you so much for tuning in. Take care and see you very soon here on Euronews.
27:45Euronews.
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