![[Translate to Englisch:]](/fileadmin/user_upload/Panel_TK.svg "[Translate to Englisch:] Special Panel")
The Special Panel on Child Safety Online today presented its recommendations to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. In their report, the experts examine how children and young people grow up in the digital environment, highlighting its advantages and disadvantages, and propose a framework based on the developmental stages of young people. The German expert commission on ‘Protecting Children and Young People in the Digital World’ has already taken a similar approach, having submitted its report to the German government just under three weeks ago.
The Special Panel recommends that the European Union introduce different levels of access to the digital environment for young people, based on their age. According to the recommendations, young children up to the age of three should grow up without digital devices. Children aged between three and 12 should be given time-limited access to age-appropriate online content under parental supervision or educational guidance. Young people aged between 13 and 18 should be allowed to use age-appropriate digital services with increasing independence. An EU-wide minimum age of 13 is proposed for social media platforms. Age verification is to be ensured in a proportionate, secure and effective manner. In future, social media providers will have to demonstrate, before gaining access to the EU single market, that their services are safe and age-appropriate for young people.
In this context, the experts also recommend greater commitment on the part of the relevant authorities to monitoring service providers and enforcing the Digital Services Act. Complaints mechanisms and consumer rights should be strengthened, and reports from children and young people should be given priority. In the context of online sexual offences and the dissemination of illegal content, they call for an immediate and lasting solution. Further research and evaluations should help to identify long-term consequences and trends.
The European Commission will take note of the report and plans to draw up a proposal by the end of the summer on how the recommendations can be implemented. The aim is to find a unified solution which could nevertheless allow Member States their own scope for action.
The full report of the Special Panel can be viewed here.