Europe is getting closer to a social media ban for under-14s The debate on mental health, safety and age verification reopens

Following the unrest of October 17 and 18 in Milan, the proposed law to ban social media for children under 14 has returned to the centre of Italian political debate. The harmful effects that platforms have on teenagers have long been a topic of discussion, to the point that several countries have decided to restrict their use – the first to do so was Australia.

The dozens of young people arrested for the destruction that took place in Milan – most of them aged between 15 and 16 – told investigators they had made their way to the city centre after calls to join the protests were circulated on Telegram; many were also spurred to take part by videos of the previous day's unrest that had spread on TikTok. It comes as no surprise, then, that most of those detained – who did not know one another – were unable to explain to judges the reasons for the demonstration.

In recent days, both the governing majority and the opposition have agreed on the need to act in order to try to curb the social media dynamics that allowed groups made up largely of teenagers to carry out the riots and looting in Milan – the offences with which those arrested are charged can carry sentences of up to 15 years in prison. The measure with the greatest chance of being passed is the bipartisan Mennuni-Madia bill, initially introduced in 2024 and still under parliamentary debate – the text partly incorporates the observations on the matter made by the European Commission, which among other things called for the standardisation of the age verification methods used across different countries for social media registration.

The European Commission's proposal to ban social networks for children under 13

The text recently put forward by the European Commission to introduce new rules on social network access for minors sets a minimum age of 13 for using platforms. The proposal also sets 15 as the age from which an account could be opened independently. Between the ages of 13 and 14, access would only be permitted through profiles with reduced functionality – for example, with a daily usage limit of one hour – linked to a parent's account.

The new provisions would also affect how individual platforms operate. The Commission proposes banning certain features designed to encourage prolonged use of social networks, including the infinite scrolling of content in individual feeds; Europe is also calling for age checks to be introduced at the point of registration, suggesting the use of dedicated verification apps. Platforms would furthermore be required to submit a plan demonstrating that their services are suitable for minors – an independent committee would then review these plans and request changes where certain features were deemed insufficiently safe.

Does banning social networks for minors improve their mental health?

In the countries where they have already been introduced or are under discussion, bans on minors using social networks cover platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, X and Snapchat. Underpinning all these measures is the belief that social media use contributes to a deterioration in the mental health of young people: the idea has the backing of a great many people, including many parents and politicians, as well as some children's rights organisations, while some psychology experts and specialists in adolescence are more sceptical. The scientific evidence on the effects of social networks on young people remains limited, and several researchers believe that bans risk addressing with an overly simplistic solution problems that have far more complex causes and dynamics.