Following the publication of the Commission’s expert report on child safety online, ECR MEP Lara Magoni said that online platforms must be made safer for children.

Existing EU rules must be properly enforced, and families must remain central to children’s digital education Her comments come ahead of Tuesday’s vote in the Culture and Education Committee on Parliament’s own-initiative report assessing the impact of social media and the online environment on young people, for which Magoni is the ECR Shadow Rapporteur.

Magoni said:

“Children should not be left alone in a digital jungle. Platforms must take real responsibility for harmful content, addictive design, manipulative practices and the commercial exploitation of minors. They must also help parents guide their children safely through the online world.

“For parents, their children’s safety should not be an optional setting hidden somewhere in a menu. It must be built into the service from the start.”

Magoni stressed that the EU should first make proper use of the rules it already has.

“The EU already has strong tools. However, the problem is not always a lack of rules. Too often, the problem is weak and uneven enforcement. Before Brussels writes another layer of legislation, it should ensure that the existing rules are fully and consistently applied.”

Magoni also warned that age verification must not come at the expense of privacy or interfere with the responsibilities of Member States.

“Protecting children must not become a back door to collecting more personal data. Age verification should be like a key that proves only what is necessary, not like a camera pointed at the whole family. Privacy, data minimisation and security must be non-negotiable.”

“Member States must retain the freedom to decide what works best in their own legal, educational and social contexts.”