The conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party of Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Germany has called for the introduction of a minimum age of 14 for using social media platforms such as “TikTok” and “Instagram”, DPA reported, BTA reported.
A motion was adopted at the national party conference in Stuttgart today calling on the German government to “introduce a minimum age of 14 for using social media”. The proposal also calls for recognition of the “special need for protection up to the age of 16 in the digital sphere”.
Similar proposals have been made before by the German Social Democratic Party (SPD), Germany's junior coalition partner in the government.
An earlier draft called for a minimum age of 16 and included additional requirements.
The CDU is calling for national and European legislation requiring platforms to introduce reliable age verification systems that comply with data protection requirements. They also stressed the need for better digital literacy education in schools. Students should learn how algorithms work and how to protect themselves from cyberbullying and online manipulation. Parents and local communities should also be involved in awareness-raising programmes. Media literacy strengthens “democratic resilience against disinformation and radicalisation”, the proposal states.