- 2 days ago
Megvédheti-e a közösségi média tiltása a gyerekeket az online erőszak és zaklatás ellen?
A Ring e heti epizódjában Axel Voss (néppárti) és Christel Schaldemose (szocialisták) európai parlamenti képviselők mély vitát folytatnak arról, hogy jó dolog-e a 16 éven aluliak számára a közösségi média betiltása vagy sem.
BŐVEBBEN : http://hu.euronews.com/2026/02/06/megvedheti-e-a-kozossegi-media-tiltasa-a-gyerekeket-az-online-eroszak-es-zaklatas-ellen
Iratkozzon fel: Az Euronews elérhető 12 nyelven
A Ring e heti epizódjában Axel Voss (néppárti) és Christel Schaldemose (szocialisták) európai parlamenti képviselők mély vitát folytatnak arról, hogy jó dolog-e a 16 éven aluliak számára a közösségi média betiltása vagy sem.
BŐVEBBEN : http://hu.euronews.com/2026/02/06/megvedheti-e-a-kozossegi-media-tiltasa-a-gyerekeket-az-online-eroszak-es-zaklatas-ellen
Iratkozzon fel: Az Euronews elérhető 12 nyelven
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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.
03:00Because 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.
03:14I 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.
03:52I prefer them to be digital, our kids, because that's the future. But we need to protect our kids better.
03:57So you support a blanket ban. Axel 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. Give us your reasons why.
04:13Yes, 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, minors 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.
04:39Is 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, minors 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. And 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.
05:25And can I add, because, Axel, I think that you're right when it comes to a lot of content. It would be better. But 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. So, and also focusing on the content.
06:06We need to give them a guideline, what is right and what is wrong. And then we might move forward. And of course, we should have in focus these platforms in fining them or even going beyond this.
06:21But when you give guidelines to the likes of Elon Musk, the billionaire, he sends a tweet saying the EU must be abolished.
06:27Yeah, 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 on the Tesla owner?
06:38If the platform state don't want to comply with the rules we have in the EU, they are free to skip the European market.
06:44We 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. They 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 ten teens are checking their devices hourly.
07:32And according to a Eurobarometer, nine in ten 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. And 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.
08:06That's why I think a ban is better right now. In 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. We 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, but if you're looking to the whole world and to the Internet Governance Forum, the whole world is looking for measures in protecting the younger generations for these mental health.
08:54Also another problem, democratic problem. But we need to do 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. We 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 and 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? Does it really mean that we protect our kids?
09:39And if that's the case, I think really we should learn. So 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 circumvent. And so the protection is not at all in this generation.
10:05So that's why we need to go beyond these. And that's why I'm 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. And 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 for things like disinformation, misinformation,
10:37but also hate speech, then the platforms need to risk mitigate. So they need to do something not just for minors.
10:44But we are also in the DSA, the Digital Services Act. We 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. We need to have a very high level of protection.
10:58And that does not exist today. And since the platforms have done nothing at all to protect our kids, I think to start with, maybe not in five years,
11:07maybe not in 10 years, maybe not in 10 years. But 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.
11:20Mm-hmm. Are you still not convinced?
11:22No, not really. It's a first step. It's a soft approach. But if we would like to achieve the goal for the mental health of our next generation,
11:32then 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. 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,
12:32for digital, for the digital world. And so this is not the best thing to move forward.
12:41So 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.
12:56So 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.
13:08But 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. And 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.
14:02But I have to follow up because I understand bypass or circumvening thing. 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. And this is something what we need to tackle.
14:35And the analog addictive. This is a different story because online everything is possible.
14:45But 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. But 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. Banning 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, very 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 when you're on social media?
15:31You are completely on your own and no one is really helping you or following you. And that's why it's so much more important that we do this to protect kids because in the offline, in the analog world, you are better protected because you have people around you.
15:45But 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. And there are more.
16:05Of course, kids understand quite a lot about how technical things works online. But should we then just give up and say that the Internet should be a forum where nothing is banned, 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. No, 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. You always can write to us here at theringatyournews.com.
16:44But it is now time to bring in a new voice.
16:49I would like to bring in the voice of the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, who said this week that Spain would ban social media for under 16s and legislation that could be introduced as soon as next week.
17:02Speaking at the World Government Summit this week in Dubai, Pedro Sánchez said social media has become a failed state where laws are ignored and crimes are tolerated.
17:13We will protect them from the digital wild west. We 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, where 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. I know it's extremely difficult what content is OK and what not.
17:45And with so much disinformation, misinformation, 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, because 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 if we don't do it at the EU level, but allow individual member states, then there's also risk that we fragment.
18:25Indeed, we have a patchwork of different laws and then, you know, it could face a lot of legal battles. Is 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 the 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.
19:20But 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. Stay with us.
19:48We'll be back very, very soon with some more political punch from the European Parliament.
19:52Thanks.
19:53Thanks.
19:54Thanks.
19:55Thanks.
19:56Thanks.
19:57Welcome back to The Ring,
20:03Eurie News' weekly show.
20:05I'm here in the Parliament,
20:06joined by MEPs Axel Voss and Crystal Shaldomoza.
20:09And the idea here is to bring Parliament debates
20:12to your very sofa.
20:13This week, our guest MEPs are sharing their views
20:16on social media bans for under-16s.
20:19But we also love hearing from you.
20:21So we asked Eurie News' Madrid office
20:23to talk to locals and ask them
20:24if a social media ban is a good idea.
20:27Take a look.
20:28Hoy en día, pues, la gente,
20:31todo lo que ve, pues, lo critica o lo transversa.
20:34Y a veces solo puede afectar un poco
20:36tanto en el autoestima como en el pensamiento
20:39de aquel menor, ya que aún no tiene desarrollado
20:42ese pensamiento maduro.
20:44Parece bien. Creo que no están formados
20:46y creo que es una buena medida.
20:49Bueno, yo creo que tal vez fuese un poco fuerte.
20:53Tal vez sería bueno tener algunas restricciones
20:56para los menores, pero prohibirlos como tal
20:58me parece una medida un poco fuerte.
20:59Lo malo es que mucha gente se crea perfiles falsos
21:01y justamente los usan para dar discursos de odio
21:05sin dar su identidad real.
21:07Yo creo que Twitter es el que más odio
21:11y más cosas malas se pueden decir.
21:13There are just a few opinions from the streets of Madrid.
21:17¿Your reaction to that, Crystal?
21:18Clever people in Madrid, I have to say,
21:20and I think they're right in their concerns.
21:22You know, it's not an easy task to take another step
21:26in order to protect our kids.
21:28However, I think when you balance everything up,
21:31a ban right now for young people and kids
21:36under the age of 16 is, in my opinion,
21:38and best way to protect them against what we just heard here.
21:41But a ban, of course, is a negative word for young people.
21:44Could we see a backlash from young people?
21:48I'm not sure.
21:49So at first, the younger or the young people
21:52know what they are talking about,
21:54and that's why a ban probably wouldn't always fit the situation,
21:59and that's why probably they would, if they would know,
22:03to 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,
22:13has been the exploitation of, sexual exploitation of children on X.
22:20And so this is something.
22:22But 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.
22:31But the thing we know from surveys in Denmark
22:33that around 94% of kids under the age of 13 is on social media.
22:40So when we talk about people knowing the digital world
22:44and understanding what they're seeing,
22:45I simply don't agree on that.
22:47I mean, if you're 15, you might better understand,
22:50and you know the techniques,
22:51and you can maybe also know how to approach this
22:55and talk to an adult.
22:55But kids, real kids, and that's why, I mean,
22:59we need also to understand the depth of this issue.
23:02It is really serious.
23:04And that's the thing, Axel Voss.
23:05How do you explain or educate kids
23:07who've never lived in a world without digital devices?
23:10This is really tricky.
23:14But all the younger ones who are growing up with these,
23:19they have a kind of a natural feeling.
23:22Instead of having a real social life,
23:25they have this social life online.
23:28And probably there is a relief
23:31if you're just taking the mobile for one hour,
23:36two hours away, and then they feel more free.
23:39But to come to this point, this is very hard.
23:42We know also in Denmark,
23:44we have seen some schools making some tests
23:46about how it works when they are taking the phone away
23:50from the kids during school day.
23:53And in the beginning, people react very, very angry.
23:56They are angry because they're addicted.
23:58They act like an addicted person.
24:01But after 14 days, the majority of them says,
24:03well, this is in fact wonderful.
24:05We are now looking at each other.
24:06We are talking to each other.
24:07We are playing.
24:08So I also think that we are in fact
24:10doing something good for the kids,
24:12even though they might not understand it to begin with.
24:15If we make them less dependent
24:17and make sure that they spend less hours online
24:20and make sure that for a part of the content
24:23that it's not kept away from them.
24:25And that means they're not being photographed
24:26either in the school yard,
24:28which is something that a lot of people do not like.
24:29Would you be in favour of this,
24:31taking mobile phones from school kids during the school day?
24:33Yes, during the school hours.
24:36This ban you're in favour of?
24:37Yes, yes, yes, yes.
24:38So, but again, this is not age verification.
24:43This is in general something,
24:45what I would say, this is a good thing,
24:47especially also for the concentration in the school.
24:52Well, now it is time to move on to our fifth and final round.
24:56Are you ready?
25:00So now it is time for something a little bit different.
25:03I'm going to ask our MEPs a set of questions
25:06and you're only allowed answer with yes or no.
25:10Is that doable?
25:11Oh, for a politician, it's difficult.
25:13It's difficult because we will try to manage.
25:15Wonderful.
25:15Are you a social media user, yes or no?
25:18Yes.
25:19Yes.
25:21Are you addicted to social media, Axel Voss?
25:23Yes or no?
25:24Totally not.
25:26No, not at all.
25:28Is social media harmful to children under 16, Axel Voss?
25:31Yes or no?
25:31Yes.
25:32Yes.
25:33Is social media harmful not just to teens,
25:36but to society in general, Mr. Voss?
25:38Yes.
25:39Also here I have to agree, yes.
25:42Are parents responsible for their children's social media usage, Mr. Voss?
25:47I would say yes.
25:49Yes, to a very large extent, but not completely.
25:52And is big tech responsible for the mental health crisis we're experiencing today?
25:56Exactly all.
25:57So they have a huge responsibility for what the content,
26:00which user are seeing which content.
26:03Yes.
26:04Are they aware of this responsibility?
26:06I don't think so.
26:07They 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?
26:15No, not really.
26:17So, no.
26:18This is precisely where you both disagree.
26:20Yes, when it comes to when they are allowed to enter social media.
26:24Are you on Twitter?
26:26I'm on X, yes.
26:27And I have to say that I'm addicted to using my phone,
26:31but not necessarily social media.
26:33Are you on TikTok?
26:34No, but X, Insta and Facebook.
26:38Should we ban social media usage from the European Parliament?
26:42No.
26:43No.
26:44And something general.
26:46Is the future of the European Union bright for our young people watching today?
26:50I 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.
26:58Yes.
26:59The future is bright.
27:00Axel Voss and Crystal Shalda Moise.
27:01Thank you so much for being with us here.
27:04Did anything change your mind from what you heard today?
27:07No, not really.
27:08I 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.
27:18Thank you so much for joining us today on The Ring and being our guest and sharing your insights with us.
27:23And thank you so much for tuning in.
27:25As I said earlier, thering at euronews.com.
27:28That is our email address.
27:29But for now, thank you so much for tuning in.
27:31Take care and see you very soon here on Euronews.
27:34We'll see you next time.
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