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Germany Moves Toward Social Media Limits for Children

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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has voiced support for stricter controls on children’s access to social media, citing increasing concern over misinformation and digital manipulation.

Speaking ahead of the Christian Union party conference, Merz pointed to the risks posed by artificial content such as fabricated news and manipulated media. He noted that young teenagers now spend an average of over five hours online daily, raising questions about the broader societal impact.

A proposal set to be discussed includes restricting access to platforms like TikTok and Instagram for users under the age of 16. Similar discussions are underway across Europe, with countries such as Spain, France and Greece exploring potential limitations.

Merz acknowledged that his perspective had evolved, highlighting the underestimated influence of algorithms and targeted online messaging. He dismissed the idea of gradual exposure to social media as a sufficient safeguard, emphasizing the need for structural protections.

While federal support appears to be growing, implementing nationwide restrictions may require coordination between Germany’s states due to the decentralized nature of media regulation.

A government-appointed commission examining online safety for young people is expected to present its findings later this year.

Germany’s CDU Considers Social Media Ban for Under-16s

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Germany’s conservative Christian Democratic Union is weighing a proposal to bar children under 16 from social media, though coalition partners have signaled reluctance toward a blanket ban. The debate follows similar moves abroad after Australia introduced age-based restrictions, intensifying scrutiny of social media’s effects on young users across Europe.

Dennis Radtke, head of the CDU’s labour wing, said rapid changes in social media have outpaced media literacy, arguing that platforms amplify hate and misinformation. He welcomed the idea of adopting a minimum age, citing the need to protect children. By contrast, the Social Democrats (Social Democratic Party of Germany), the CDU’s centre-left coalition partners, cautioned against an outright prohibition, calling instead for stronger platform-led safeguards, age verification, and limits on aggressive recommendation algorithms for minors.

The issue is set to feature at the CDU’s national conference later this month, following a motion from the party’s Schleswig-Holstein branch proposing a statutory minimum age of 16 with mandatory age checks. The motion reportedly names platforms including TikTok and Meta Platforms’ Instagram and Facebook.

Germany has intensified its focus on online harms, appointing a special commission last year to assess protections for young people. Regulators say issues such as cyberbullying and hate speech are taken seriously, adding that if voluntary measures fail, stricter interventions—including bans—could be considered as a last resort.

Germany Plans New Measures to Curb Harmful AI Image Manipulation

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Germany’s justice ministry said on Friday it is preparing measures that would allow authorities to more effectively combat the use of artificial intelligence to manipulate images in ways that violate personal rights.

The move comes amid growing scrutiny in Europe over AI-generated imagery, including investigations into Grok, the built-in chatbot on X owned by billionaire Elon Musk. Grok has faced criticism for its so-called “spicy mode,” which allows users to generate sexually explicit images.

A Reuters investigation found that the chatbot’s image generation tools were being used to create images of women and children in minimal clothing, often without the consent of the individuals depicted. Germany’s media minister earlier this week urged the European Commission to take legal action to halt what he described as the “industrialisation of sexual harassment” on X.

Speaking at a regular government press conference, justice ministry spokesperson Anna-Lena Beckfeld said the government was preparing to address the issue through domestic legal channels.

“It is unacceptable that manipulation on a large scale is being used for systematic violations of personal rights,” Beckfeld said. “We therefore want to ensure that criminal law can be used more effectively to combat this.”

She said the ministry is working on tighter regulation of deepfakes and plans to introduce legislation targeting digital violence, aimed at better supporting victims. The goal, she added, is to make it easier for individuals to take direct action against violations of their rights online.

Beckfeld said concrete proposals would be presented in the near future but declined to provide further details at this stage.

After initially dismissing concerns over Grok’s image-generation features, xAI has since restricted the function to paid subscribers. Musk said last week that anyone using the chatbot to create illegal content would face the same consequences as if they had uploaded such material directly.