Digital ministers from D9+ group urge EU to establish common age limit for social media

Digital ministers from the D9+ group, which represents some of the European Union’s most digitally advanced member states, are pushing for a unified approach to address growing concerns over children’s safety on social media.

In a joint declaration, 14 EU tech ministers led by Luxembourg called on the European Commission to adopt “a truly European approach to protecting children online” by coordinating the enforcement of EU rules governing child safety.

They also urged the bloc to develop “a common approach to the digital age of majority across the EU,” referring to a potential union-wide age limit for accessing social media platforms.

Last month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen indicated that the bloc could consider introducing legislation to this effect as early as this summer.

However, the declaration also highlights a dissenting voice. Estonia, which has emerged as a prominent critic of EU social media restrictions, raised objections to horizontal age restrictions at the EU level and stated that it does not support provisions aimed at enforcing age limits on digital platforms.

Estonia also opposed what it described as “disproportionate” age verification measures that would require all users to verify their age and identity.

In contrast, the remaining members of the D9+ group supported “privacy-preserving EU-wide age verification” in the declaration.

This position appears to reference the EU’s own age-verification technology intended for national implementation, which the Commission asserts is secure from a privacy perspective.

The member states also demanded that online platforms adapt their interfaces based on the age and vulnerability of their users.

This refers to ensuring platforms are safe by design and age-appropriate by default.

Furthermore, the ministers requested that the Digital Fairness Act (DFA)—a set of rules aimed at strengthening online consumer protection by tackling dark patterns and addictive designs, which the Commission plans to propose by the end of the year—be a “targeted” instrument within the context of the bloc’s broader regulatory simplification efforts.

The declaration also addresses other digital policy areas, with a particular emphasis on the EU’s technology sovereignty following the Commission’s adoption of a major microchip and cloud proposal last week.

The 14 digital ministers demanded that technology sovereignty be pursued “openly,” calling for measures to ensure that digital sovereignty does not become “solely an EU-specific vision.”

This phrasing implies that the D9+ countries would reject EU digital infrastructure support measures that could be accused of being protectionist by excluding foreign providers.

The Commission’s draft Cloud and AI Development Act allows foreign cloud providers the flexibility to obtain certification as EU partners at nearly the highest sovereignty levels.

The D9+ group includes the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, and Sweden.