Overview
- Tuesday's session at the Dalton‑Gymnasium in Potsdam brought Education Minister Karin Prien and Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig together with 9th‑ and 10th‑grade students to talk about participation, empowerment and protection in the digital space.
- Prien and Hubig said platforms must be held to greater responsibility and Hubig flagged the idea of exploring a ban on social‑media access for children under 14 with age‑graded options for older teens.
- An expert commission appointed by Prien is due to publish policy recommendations before the parliamentary summer recess that could shape any legal steps on age limits and platform duties.
- Government‑funded Jugendschutz.net reported 15,099 youth‑protection violations in the past year, including 12,334 cases of child‑abuse imagery and 1,091 cases of youth pornography, figures ministers cited as driving urgency.
- Public pressure is high with a bidt poll showing 66 percent support for an under‑14 social‑media ban and the debate could lead to new rules, teacher training and platform changes that would change how children access social apps.