According to a Forsa survey commissioned by the Consumer Advisory Federal Association (VZBV), about three‑quarters of Germans-76 percent-believe that children and teenagers are not adequately protected when using social media. Only 18 percent think the current safeguards are sufficient, while 6 percent responded “don’t know” or withheld an answer.
VZBV president Ramona Pop urged concrete steps to shield minors online. She said platforms must be designed to eliminate addictive features and protect young users without excluding them. Pop called for platforms to be required by default to be safe and fair for all users, meaning harmful functions such as autoplay and negatively reinforcing recommendation feeds should be disabled from the start.
In addition, Pop advocated for mandatory age verification before unlocking certain features. Only adults should be able to activate functions that allow strangers to contact them, after proving their age. This measure aims to provide comprehensive protection for all users-especially minors-while ensuring young people can fully participate in the digital world.
The survey, conducted by Forsa between February 10 and 12, sampled 1,002 adults aged 18 and older.
