Federal Family Minister Prien wants to allow social media use only from age 13

For children and young people between 13 and 18, Prien wants "abgestufte Schutzkonzepte" (tiered protection concepts) for the use of TikTok, Instagram and similar services. Exceptions would be conceivable, for example, for messenger services. Prien also indicated that she considers the question of whether the limit should be 13 or 14 years as negotiable. The CDU had already called for an age limit of 14 at a party conference; the SPD demands in an impulse paper a ban for under-14-year-olds.

First and foremost, it is about establishing a "soziale Norm" (social norm), said Prien. "Es ist auch eine normative Orientierung, die uns als Gesellschaft klar macht, ab wann etwas in Ordnung ist und wann nicht." The minister announced that she wanted to launch a legislative process this year. Should no timely regulation be achieved at the European level, she would initiate national steps in parallel: "Für den Fall, dass auf europäischer Ebene keine ausreichenden und zeitnahen Fortschritte erzielt werden, werde ich parallel die notwendigen nationalen Regelungen vorbereiten."

The recommendations of the expert commission

The commission's report, which included 18 experts, pursues a holistic approach for children from birth to the age of 18. The chair was shared by Olaf Köller and Nadine Schön. Köller summarized the guiding principle as: "Nicht das Kind muss sich an die digitale Welt anpassen, sondern die digitale Welt an das Kind." Schön added that the digital world must align with the rights, needs and developmental possibilities of children and young people. Three aspects are important: protecting children from content they are not yet able to handle, empowering them to shape their own digital lives, and enabling their participation.

In addition to the age limit, the commission proposes a "risikobasierter Ansatz" (risk-based approach) that ties restrictions to specific services and features, such as algorithmic recommendations, endless feeds, autoplay, push notifications, open contact functions and personalized advertising. According to this, minors could receive chronological feeds by default. This approach sets in "deutlich stärker dort an, wo Gefährdungen tatsächlich entstehen", according to the report.

The developmental psychologist also considers particularly relevant the recommendation to release AI companions from age 13. Such systems are designed to create emotional closeness; many children find it difficult to assess that it is not a real relationship. The commission also proposes, analogous to the swimming "Seepferdchen" (sea horse) certificate, a mandatory "KI-Seepferdchen" (AI sea horse), a child-friendly online certificate on the possibilities and dangers of artificial intelligence.

School and family in focus

For schools, the commission recommends a "weitgehende Einschränkung der privaten Nutzung" (far-reaching restriction of private use) of smartphones. Up to and including grade seven, private use in class, in extracurricular activities and during breaks should be "bundesweit einheitlich untersagt und in den Schulgesetzen verankert werden" (uniformly banned nationwide and anchored in school laws). Parents and families should also be counseled and supported on digital media even before birth; the principle is "bildschirmfrei bis drei" (screen-free until three).

The report also contains a far-reaching legal initiative: "elterliche Medienerziehung" (parental media education) is to be anchored in the Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch), similar to how non-violent upbringing was enshrined there in 2000. In extreme cases, this could mean that the youth welfare office can intervene if parents permanently "park" their children in front of electronic media and thereby harm them. Also planned are more counseling services, more media education, better complaint options for minors and aid for children and young people.

According to the commission, about one million young people use digital media in problematic ways, and 300,000 show addictive behavior. In a survey commissioned by the EU Commission, 18 percent of 13- to 18-year-olds surveyed cited negative impacts from social networks; among parents, it was 36 percent. Around 25 percent of 10- to 17-year-olds spend far too much time on social media, according to the survey.

International comparison: Australia, United Kingdom, Greece

Australia was the first country in the world to introduce a legal minimum age of 16 for the use of social media at the end of 2025. However, a survey published in the journal "The BMJ" of just over 400 Australian adolescents between 12 and 17 shows that three months after entry into force, 85 percent continued to use such platforms, predominantly via their own accounts. Among 12- to 13-year-olds, the authors found hardly any changes; in the 14- to 15-year-old age group there was a slight decline, while use among 16-year-olds and above increased. Fifteen to 19 percent used a fictitious profile for access.

The United Kingdom wants to ban the use of certain social media apps for all under-16s from early 2027; Greece wants to set the limit at 15. In Germany, the debate is also accompanied by other actors: CDU politician Anja Weisgerber presented a concept for "variable Altersgrenzen" (variable age limits) that should apply depending on the platform. At EU level there is a separate expert group that wants to present its proposals on 13 July.

At the same time, the commission recommended avoiding "nationale Alleingänge" (national solo efforts) on this issue. Meta, TikTok and other platforms operate worldwide, so a European solution is needed. The EU's Digital Services Act is actually intended to ensure that platforms are punished if they do not provide enough child protection. For age verification, Prien says she wants to use the EUDI Wallet, which is to be available in Germany from early 2027.

Voices from the expert community and politics

The WDR Youth Media Day (WDR-Jugendmedientag), in which all ARD broadcasters, ZDF and Deutschlandradio participated, took up the topic on Wednesday. Thirteen-year-old Hannah Steinberg from Wuppertal reported there that she had set up specific times on her phone so that an app would turn off after half an hour, "damit ich da nicht so drin gefangen bin". The seventh-grader said in the WDR interview: "Meistens habe ich mich unter Kontrolle und kann mein Handy auch weglegen, wenn ich etwas anderes machen möchte".

Reactions from the expert community and politics were also mixed. Melanie Stinn writes in a commentary that the push for social media regulation is right. "Wir sollten aufhören, dem Narrativ zu erliegen, dass Europa nichts gegen Meta, Tik Tok und Co. unternehmen könne." Critics like Jager counter that real protection works differently: "Wir schützen sie nicht, indem wir sie von der Straße fernhalten, sondern indem wir die Straße sicherer machen." A fixed age limit takes into account only the chronological, not the actual developmental age.

Outlook: National law or European solution?

The social scientist Müller was also skeptical: "Wenn wir ein Verbot aussprechen und davon ausgehen, dass Kinder dann nicht mehr an verbotene oder gefährdende Inhalte kommen, sitzen wir einem Irrglauben auf". Children and young people will always find a way. At the same time, he warned: "Wir haben eigentlich kein Erkenntnisproblem, sondern ein Durchsetzungsproblem." Schools should also not be overburdened: "Wir können der Schule nicht einfach noch mehr Aufgaben auferlegen, ohne uns Gedanken zu machen, wie das umgesetzt werden soll".

The federal government thus faces the question of whether to push ahead with a national ban or wait for a European solution. Prien stressed that she considers the commission's proposals sensible. "Aber gleichzeitig bin ich relativ enttäuscht, dass wieder nur aufgezählt wird, was man machen müsste", Müller said. The coming weeks will show whether the 56 recommendations will result in a concrete draft law.