Rein in social media not children, say over 130 groups, experts

The European Union should force tech giants to make social media safe before children use them instead of banning minors from their platforms, over 130 groups and experts urged in a letter shared with AFP Tuesday.

Their call came just a week before EU chief Ursula von der Leyen was to outline how the bloc intends to better protect children online from dangerous content and addictive apps.

She is expected to announce an age limit but officials have been tight-lipped on the details, and whether the ban will be restricted to social media or include other platforms like gaming apps.

Von der Leyen indicated in July she supported giving children gradual access to social media and ensuring platforms had safety features on by default.

Now in a letter sent to von der Leyen, 132 children's rights, digital rights and mental health organisations and experts urged against moves like blanket bans that offload "the burden of safety onto parents or children".

The signatories, including 5Rights Foundation, an advocacy group for children's online rights, Amnesty International and Center for Countering Digital Hate among dozens of others, called for a Europe-wide framework for digital safety.

The EU's approach should focus on the safety of the technology children use -- including through enforcement of the bloc's Digital Services Act -- instead of denying minors access to platforms, they argued.

"It must ensure that proportionate age restrictions go hand-in-hand with robust safety measures so that digital environments both protect and empower children, by design and default," they wrote.

The signatories recommended the EU define minimum standards and conditions for digital products and services "to be deemed safe" for age groups up to 18, with age-based limits on high-risk features.

"Europeans have had enough of tech companies exploiting our children, but we also expect more from our leaders than quick-fix bans on kids," said Leanda Barrington-Leach, executive director of 5Rights Foundation.

"Children need and deserve safe, age-appropriate digital services. The EU has the power to set a bar and require tech companies to prove they meet it before accessing children," she added.

Von der Leyen is under pressure from all sides.

Estonia's digital minister echoed the groups' sentiments on the potential ban, telling AFP that social media platforms should be the ones to change.

But French President Emmanuel Macron called for "European" rules banning social media for under-15s in a letter to von der Leyen seen by AFP Monday.

Macron has tried to do the same in France but the country's top court struck down the proposed law on freedom of expression grounds in August.

Von der Leyen is weighing up limits on under-13s or under-15s, officials say, ahead of her State of the European Union annual speech on September 16.