Stefan Düll, president of the German Teachers’ Association, has voiced strong criticism of proposals to ban messaging services such as WhatsApp for children and adolescents. He argues that a blanket prohibition or wide‑range restrictions would be “practically unrealizable”. According to Düll, these platforms now play a central role in everyday communication and scheduling within families, clubs, youth groups and religious communities.
Teachers typically do not have access to student chats. For privacy reasons, WhatsApp is not used for official school communication. Düll explained that school staff only review such chats in exceptional cases-when insults, threats or other conflict‑prone content surface. In those instances, teachers and principals coordinate educational or disciplinary measures with the students and their parents.
It is difficult to assess how widespread problematic content in class chats truly is. Düll noted that systematic monitoring does not occur. While incidents do happen and schools may feel burdened, single cases do not provide a comprehensive picture.
Instead of outright bans, the association president calls for increased media‑literacy offerings, stronger support for schools in managing digital conflicts, and reliable protection mechanisms from the service providers. He believes prevention concepts are far more effective in everyday practice than sweeping prohibitions.
