Germany's Coalition Closes Ranks on Social Media Restrictions for Children

On the oak-paneled corridors of the Bundestag, a rare sight is taking shape: Germany's two governing parties, often at odds on digital policy, are converging on a plan to restrict children's access to social media — a move that could make the country one of the strictest regulators of young people's online lives in Europe.

The Social Democratic Party on Sunday published a formal discussion paper calling for a complete ban on social media access for children under 14 and mandatory youth versions of platforms for those aged 14 to 16 . The proposal, signed by a group of SPD lawmakers and senior state politicians, would strip those youth versions of algorithm-driven feeds, personalized content recommendations, endless scrolling, autoplay functions, push notifications, and gamification features Germany news: Government mulls social media ban for childrendw.com·SecondaryHere are the major headlines from Germany on Tuesday February 17, 2026: The digital industry group Bitkom says that 44% of people aged 65 and older now use social networks, up from 15% five years ago. Bitkom said 1,004 people aged 65 and above were surveyed from September to October 2025. Usage was highest among those aged 65 to 69, with about two-thirds active on social media. Among people aged 70 to 74, the figure was 56%. Use dropped in older age groups.. For all users aged 16 and above — including adults — algorithmic recommendation systems would be switched off by default, requiring an active opt-in Germany news: Government mulls social media ban for childrendw.com·SecondaryHere are the major headlines from Germany on Tuesday February 17, 2026: The digital industry group Bitkom says that 44% of people aged 65 and older now use social networks, up from 15% five years ago. Bitkom said 1,004 people aged 65 and above were surveyed from September to October 2025. Usage was highest among those aged 65 to 69, with about two-thirds active on social media. Among people aged 70 to 74, the figure was 56%. Use dropped in older age groups..

The SPD's paper lands days before Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative CDU/CSU bloc is set to debate its own proposal at a party conference this week. The conservatives have called for a broader ban covering all children under 16 Germany news: Government mulls social media ban for childrendw.com·SecondaryHere are the major headlines from Germany on Tuesday February 17, 2026: The digital industry group Bitkom says that 44% of people aged 65 and older now use social networks, up from 15% five years ago. Bitkom said 1,004 people aged 65 and above were surveyed from September to October 2025. Usage was highest among those aged 65 to 69, with about two-thirds active on social media. Among people aged 70 to 74, the figure was 56%. Use dropped in older age groups.. That both halves of the governing coalition are now pressing for restrictions makes some form of legislative action increasingly likely, though the two sides differ on where to draw the age line.

SPD leader and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil framed the push in stark terms, telling Der Spiegel that clear rules and restrictions had become unavoidable. "Protecting young people from the flood of hatred and violence on social media is a top priority," he said Germany news: Government mulls social media ban for childrendw.com·SecondaryHere are the major headlines from Germany on Tuesday February 17, 2026: The digital industry group Bitkom says that 44% of people aged 65 and older now use social networks, up from 15% five years ago. Bitkom said 1,004 people aged 65 and above were surveyed from September to October 2025. Usage was highest among those aged 65 to 69, with about two-thirds active on social media. Among people aged 70 to 74, the figure was 56%. Use dropped in older age groups.. Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig, who co-signed the paper, described the goal not as a blanket prohibition but as a differentiated regulatory framework that balances continued digital participation with age-appropriate safeguards Germany news: Coalition mulls social media ban for childrendw.com·SecondaryHere are the major headlines from Germany on Tuesday February 17, 2026: The digital industry group Bitkom says that 44% of people aged 65 and older now use social networks, up from 15% five years ago. Bitkom said 1,004 people aged 65 and above were surveyed from September to October 2025. Usage was highest among those aged 65 to 69, with about two-thirds active on social media. Among people aged 70 to 74, the figure was 56%. Use dropped in older age groups..

The proposals have drawn support from several quarters. Kerstin Claus, the Federal Government's Independent Commissioner for Child and Youth Sexual Abuse Issues, called the SPD's tiered approach welcome, arguing that personalized feeds and addictive design features represent deliberate corporate decisions with serious consequences for young people rather than technical necessities . Green Party health politician Janosch Dahmen endorsed the initiative from a medical standpoint, saying the health risks of excessive social media use among minors could no longer be downplayed Germany news: Coalition mulls social media ban for childrendw.com·SecondaryHere are the major headlines from Germany on Tuesday February 17, 2026: The digital industry group Bitkom says that 44% of people aged 65 and older now use social networks, up from 15% five years ago. Bitkom said 1,004 people aged 65 and above were surveyed from September to October 2025. Usage was highest among those aged 65 to 69, with about two-thirds active on social media. Among people aged 70 to 74, the figure was 56%. Use dropped in older age groups.. North Rhine-Westphalia's Minister-President Hendrik Wüst, a CDU heavyweight, urged a swift cross-party agreement, telling Focus magazine that a consensus of the political center on age restrictions for social media would send the right signal Germany news: Coalition mulls social media ban for childrendw.com·SecondaryHere are the major headlines from Germany on Tuesday February 17, 2026: The digital industry group Bitkom says that 44% of people aged 65 and older now use social networks, up from 15% five years ago. Bitkom said 1,004 people aged 65 and above were surveyed from September to October 2025. Usage was highest among those aged 65 to 69, with about two-thirds active on social media. Among people aged 70 to 74, the figure was 56%. Use dropped in older age groups..

Yet the proposal faces headwinds from multiple directions. Jens Spahn, parliamentary group leader of the CDU/CSU bloc, cautioned that blanket bans alone would not solve the problem, calling instead for age-appropriate access models, clearer rules for platform operators, and more educational programs for parents and children . The technology industry association Bitkom rejected the blanket-ban approach outright, advocating instead for a risk-based framework with age-appropriate default settings, technical protection mechanisms, and mandatory media literacy programs Germany news: Coalition mulls social media ban for childrendw.com·SecondaryHere are the major headlines from Germany on Tuesday February 17, 2026: The digital industry group Bitkom says that 44% of people aged 65 and older now use social networks, up from 15% five years ago. Bitkom said 1,004 people aged 65 and above were surveyed from September to October 2025. Usage was highest among those aged 65 to 69, with about two-thirds active on social media. Among people aged 70 to 74, the figure was 56%. Use dropped in older age groups.. Federal Data Protection Commissioner Louisa Specht-Riemenschneider raised a different concern, warning that sweeping age-verification requirements could impose disproportionate compliance burdens on smaller platforms and services specifically designed for younger audiences Germany news: Coalition mulls social media ban for childrendw.com·SecondaryHere are the major headlines from Germany on Tuesday February 17, 2026: The digital industry group Bitkom says that 44% of people aged 65 and older now use social networks, up from 15% five years ago. Bitkom said 1,004 people aged 65 and above were surveyed from September to October 2025. Usage was highest among those aged 65 to 69, with about two-thirds active on social media. Among people aged 70 to 74, the figure was 56%. Use dropped in older age groups..

The technical question of enforcement looms large. The SPD paper envisions mandatory age verification through the European Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet application, a system still under development across the European Union Germany news: Coalition mulls social media ban for childrendw.com·SecondaryHere are the major headlines from Germany on Tuesday February 17, 2026: The digital industry group Bitkom says that 44% of people aged 65 and older now use social networks, up from 15% five years ago. Bitkom said 1,004 people aged 65 and above were surveyed from September to October 2025. Usage was highest among those aged 65 to 69, with about two-thirds active on social media. Among people aged 70 to 74, the figure was 56%. Use dropped in older age groups.. Critics note that no country has yet demonstrated a fully reliable method of verifying minors' ages online without creating significant privacy trade-offs. Australia's ban on social media for children under 16, which took effect in December 2025, has become both a reference point and a cautionary tale for European policymakers — widely cited as proof that legislative action is possible, but still facing questions about how platforms will practically implement the restriction Germany news: Government mulls social media ban for childrendw.com·SecondaryHere are the major headlines from Germany on Tuesday February 17, 2026: The digital industry group Bitkom says that 44% of people aged 65 and older now use social networks, up from 15% five years ago. Bitkom said 1,004 people aged 65 and above were surveyed from September to October 2025. Usage was highest among those aged 65 to 69, with about two-thirds active on social media. Among people aged 70 to 74, the figure was 56%. Use dropped in older age groups..

Germany's federal structure adds a further complication. Media regulation is constitutionally a state-level responsibility, meaning any nationwide framework would require the 16 Länder to negotiate and agree on consistent rules before they could take effect Germany news: Government mulls social media ban for childrendw.com·SecondaryHere are the major headlines from Germany on Tuesday February 17, 2026: The digital industry group Bitkom says that 44% of people aged 65 and older now use social networks, up from 15% five years ago. Bitkom said 1,004 people aged 65 and above were surveyed from September to October 2025. Usage was highest among those aged 65 to 69, with about two-thirds active on social media. Among people aged 70 to 74, the figure was 56%. Use dropped in older age groups.. The SPD paper acknowledges this by including a fallback provision: if no agreement can be reached at the European level by summer 2026, the party reserves the right to pursue national legislation Germany news: Coalition mulls social media ban for childrendw.com·SecondaryHere are the major headlines from Germany on Tuesday February 17, 2026: The digital industry group Bitkom says that 44% of people aged 65 and older now use social networks, up from 15% five years ago. Bitkom said 1,004 people aged 65 and above were surveyed from September to October 2025. Usage was highest among those aged 65 to 69, with about two-thirds active on social media. Among people aged 70 to 74, the figure was 56%. Use dropped in older age groups.. Whether the states can coordinate quickly enough to match the political momentum remains an open question.

The debate unfolds against a backdrop of mounting evidence on social media's effects on young people. Germany appointed a special commission last year to examine online harms facing children, with a report expected later in 2026 Germany news: Government mulls social media ban for childrendw.com·SecondaryHere are the major headlines from Germany on Tuesday February 17, 2026: The digital industry group Bitkom says that 44% of people aged 65 and older now use social networks, up from 15% five years ago. Bitkom said 1,004 people aged 65 and above were surveyed from September to October 2025. Usage was highest among those aged 65 to 69, with about two-thirds active on social media. Among people aged 70 to 74, the figure was 56%. Use dropped in older age groups.. Across Europe, France, Spain, and the United Kingdom have all advanced or implemented their own forms of youth-focused platform restrictions, creating a patchwork of national approaches that some observers argue strengthens the case for EU-wide coordination.

For the technology platforms themselves — Meta, Snap, ByteDance's TikTok, and Alphabet's YouTube among them — the German proposals represent another front in a widening regulatory campaign. Platform operators have generally favored self-regulatory approaches and parental-control tools over government-mandated bans, arguing that restricting access risks pushing young users toward less moderated corners of the internet. Whether Berlin's coalition can translate its unusual bipartisan agreement into workable law will depend on resolving the tension between the impulse to protect children and the practical difficulties of policing a borderless digital environment — a tension that no government has yet fully overcome.