Overview
- CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann said he expects the party to back an age restriction at its Stuttgart congress, with a Schleswig-Holstein motion proposing a 16-plus minimum and mandatory verification.
- The SPD’s proposal would ban accounts for under‑14s and require a stripped‑down youth version for 14‑ to 16‑year‑olds without algorithmic feeds or endless scrolling, with parental approval via the planned EU Digital Identity Wallet.
- Chancellor Friedrich Merz has voiced support for tighter rules, as Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger calls youth protection necessary given rising concerns over problematic use reported by the DAK health insurer.
- Privacy advocates including the Chaos Computer Club and Germany’s federal data‑protection authority warn that mandatory age checks risk overreach and rights violations, while some researchers urge curbs on addictive design features instead.
- Implementation faces EU hurdles under the Digital Services Act, Australia’s under‑16 precedent shows easy workarounds, and U.S. testimony by Mark Zuckerberg highlighted historic under‑13 use of Instagram and slow enforcement.