Children need better protection from harmful content, addictive features and commercial exploitation online, but this should not become an excuse for Brussels to take decisions away from parents and Member States, ECR MEP Lara Magoni said today.

Following Thursday’s vote in the European Parliament on the impact of social media on young people, Magoni said she could not support the final report. As ECR Shadow Rapporteur, she had worked to strengthen the protection of children online, but remained concerned by the call for an EU-wide minimum age, the introduction of gender-based principles, the singling out of specific groups of children and a greater role for the European Commission.

“Protecting children online must be our priority. Platforms have a responsibility to tackle harmful content, addictive features and practices that exploit young users. But we should start by properly enforcing the rules we already have, while giving parents the information and tools they need to guide their children,” she said.

A central point of disagreement is the report’s call for a harmonised EU-wide minimum age for access to social media. Magoni believes decisions on whether to introduce such an age limit, and where to set it, should remain with Member States.

She said:

“Whether there should be a minimum age for social media, and what that age should be, should remain a decision for Member States. There is no reason why Brussels should impose the same model on every family and every country in Europe.”

Magoni also criticised the inclusion of gender-based principles and what she regards as unnecessary political categorisation of children in a report that should concentrate on the risks they face online.

She said:

“Children should be protected because they are children. We do not need to divide them into political or ideological categories, or introduce gender-based principles where there is no clear reason for doing so. Our focus should be on the actual dangers young people face online and on protecting every child who is at risk.”