Cullen International has just published a new version of its benchmark which tracks the current debates/ initiatives on banning access to social media to protect minors online in Europe. 

Background

In Europe, many countries are planning to introduce "social media bans" to protect children online. To prevent internal market fragmentation, the European Commission has proposed in September 2026 its own initiative (the "EU Kids Act) which, once adopted, is expected to replace national social media bans in the EU member states. The Commission proposes a tiered approach based on age, for children's access to social media and video-sharing platforms (VSPs):

• under 13: no access to social media. Children aged 3 to 13 would only be able to access VSPs specifically designed for children, through their guardian’s account;
• ages 13–15: no personal accounts on social media or VSPs. Children would instead have access to so-called “mini accounts”, supervised by guardians and offering limited features;
• ages 15–18: access would be limited to services that comply with safety-by-design obligations addressing addictive design, unwanted contact from other users, unsafe default settings, and recommender systems.

Main findings

The benchmark shows that thirteen out of the fourteen countries covered 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, Norway and Spain are already proposing legislation. In the other countries (Belgium (Wallonia), Germany, Ireland, Poland, Sweden and the UK), the matter is subject to government announcements, studies or consultations, without any legislative initiative at this stage.

It also shows that the minimum age limit to access social media ranges from 13 (in Belgium - Flanders), 15 (in Belgium - Wallonia, Denmark, France, Italy and Poland) or 16 (in Ireland, Norway and Spain). 

Among other findings, the benchmark highlights that the scope of the ban would cover social media in general or certain categories of social media. 

In Belgium (Flanders), the ban would only target intermediaries providing media content which are based in Flanders and listed as infringing the Digital Services Act. In France, the ban would apply to social media and online platforms that offer at least one of the ten listed features or business practices considered as posing risks to minors’ development (such as indefinite scroll and live feed streaming). 

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: September 2026

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