The European Parliament's Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) committee on 24 June 2026 debated protection of minors online, exposing a divide between those advocating bans on addictive features or raising the minimum age to 16 and those favouring safety-by-design and evidence-based regulation. The discussion, which focused on enforcement of the Digital Services Act (DSA), the upcoming Digital Fairness Act (DFA), the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) revision, and the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) review, saw broad consensus on prioritising minor protection and faster enforcement but sharp disagreement on methods.
Commission official H. Gambs outlined a horizontal approach using the DSA, consumer law, and the DFA. Meta's T. Hopkins defended the company's teen accounts with default protections, but Laura Ballarín Cereza (S&D, Spain) claimed they 'just don't work', citing an 11-year-old account created without controls. A parent advocate and Kids Unplugged Belgium called for raising the minimum age to 16 and treating tech as a regulated sector. Pablo Arias Echeverría (EPP, Spain) urged caution and evidence-based policy. Jan Penfraud (EDRi) argued bans are ineffective and potentially harmful, while Alexandra Geese (Greens-EFA, Germany) supported a ban, calling DOT Europe's call for evidence 'mockery' due to restricted researcher access.
On age verification, CDT Europe opposed hard ID tools, while the Commission's Renata defended the EU digital wallet's privacy-friendly design. Enforcement speed was criticised; Sérgio Humberto (EPP, Portugal) noted the CPC revision aims for binding timelines.
the DFA adoption and AVMSD review. Stakeholder impacts are significant: minors and parents would benefit from stronger protections but may face reduced access or privacy trade-offs under age-verification mandates; platforms face compliance costs and potential liability under bans or safety-by-design requirements; consumer groups gain enforcement tools but may see slower progress if evidence-based approaches delay action; regulators must balance effective enforcement with proportionality.
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