Cullen International has just published an updated version of its benchmark showing the state of play of debates/ initiatives on banning access to social media with the aim of protecting minors.

It shows that introducing social media bans at country level in Europe is gaining traction.

These initiatives come as the European Commission adopted non-binding guidelines on article 28 of the Digital Services Act (DSA) which detail what online platforms should do to protect minors online. In the guidelines, the Commission seems to recognise the ability of the member states to adopt bans, but the matter is not clear from a legal point of view. Indeed, it is uncertain if initiatives imposing a digital majority are compatible with the DSA.

Initiatives in thirteen countries 

The benchmark shows that thirteen out of the fifteen countries are proposing or are debating initiatives which aim to ban minors from accessing social media.

Out of these thirteen countries, Belgium (Flanders), Denmark, France, Italy and Spain are already proposing legislation.

The benchmark also shows the minimum age that is foreseen, how age must be verified, whether the ban applies to platforms other than social media the authority(ies) involved and the sanctions foreseen.

Scope
Region: Europe
Countries covered: Belgium (VL+WA), Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom
Policy area: online safety / child protection / social media
Last updated: May 2026

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