Overview
- An experts' commission appointed by Families Minister Karin Prien set out two options: a statutory minimum age of 13 for personal social‑media accounts or a risk‑based regime that limits specific features for younger users.
- Prien publicly backs the 13‑year floor but child‑health specialists and parent groups say 13 is too low and press for staged access rules that restrict independent use until 14 or 16.
- On Saturday, Australia moved to double maximum corporate fines to A$99 million after a BMJ study found roughly 85 percent of 12–15‑year‑olds remained active on platforms months after Canberra's under‑16 ban, a result that exposed weak age checks.
- Journalists and experts warn that common age‑verification methods such as self‑reported dates of birth or selfies are easy to bypass, so any German limit would be symbolic without new technical checks and stronger regulator powers.
- The commission also urged function‑focused limits — banning algorithmic recommendation feeds for young users, restricting addictive design and personalized ads, boosting digital education, and tougher platform enforcement that could prompt legal fights and wider European policy shifts.