Harris-Hess referred to the ministerial meeting in Nicosia last week, where EU capitals corresponds to the EU-wide restrictionas a sign of political momentum.
No matter what type of ban, if it is decided, it is important to discuss “What environment do we want to see for those who can access services?” It can’t be anything, it should be some kind of protection,” for those young children between the minimum age set by the restrictions and the age of 18 for most, he said.
While saying that legally, an EU-wide ban is possible, Harris-Hess rejected the word “ban” as “emotional baggage” and said the move would face “practical difficulties,” as evidenced in Australia.
Canberra introduced a ban on social media for under-16s last year, which has not brought any meaningful change platform behavior or among childrenaccording to Australian government assessments.
Sonia Livingstone — a professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science who chairs the Commission’s expert panel — came out strongly against the panel’s blanket ban, telling POLITICO that age restrictions are not easy to define or enforce.
“Prohibition sounds simple, and it’s not,” he said. “What are we going to ban? Which services? How are we going to call them? What are we going to provide for children when we have banned them? How will we know even if we have banned them? And what about the children who find solutions? Are they not more vulnerable? So it is not an easy way,” Livingstone said.
