Federal Minister of Family Affairs Karin Prien (CDU) intends to accelerate the implementation of a legal minimum age requirement for social media, stating that she is not ruling out a national, standalone approach. Speaking to the “Technologie und KI” newsletter of Politico, Prien indicated that if sufficient and timely progress is not achieved at the European level, national regulations will be necessary as an interim measure. She emphasized that the core goal is to effectively shield children and adolescents from the risks and harm associated with consuming dangerous content on social media.
While she continues to advocate for unified regulations, the Minister stated that she has actively promoted a swift adoption of a common European solution during her discussions with the EU Commission in Brussels. However, she also made it clear that she will not depend exclusively on this approach.
Content-wise, Prien remains firm in her demand for a legal minimum age of 13. To support this, she requires a technically sound age verification system that is data-sparing, secure, and fully compliant with European data protection standards.
Prien rejected a blanket prohibition on all digital offerings aimed at children under 13. Instead, she argued that offerings that are demonstrably suitable for children under this age should still be accessible. Her proposal is a “legal permit reservation” (gesetzlicher Erlaubnisvorbehalt). Under this concept, access to platforms would be fundamentally disallowed unless the providers could prove that their specific offering is appropriate for a determined age group.
