The European Parliament yesterday passed a resolution to ban access to social media platforms, video-sharing platforms and artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots to users under 16. This is to ensure that they only access content that is appropriate for their age.
It will be governed by the European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA) with member states being able to set a minimum age for using social media, video-sharing platforms and chatbots in their countries. The act still allows users aged 13-16 to access all of these services if they receive parental or guardian permission.
The European Parliament also wants to standardize the act to ban access to social media, video-sharing platforms and AI chatbots to users under 13. Although the resolution has been approved by parliament, it still needs to go through the European Commission and this process could take several years before approval.
In doing so, the EU follows the steps of Australia, Denmark and Malaysia which have banned access to social media to users under 16. Australia will start on December 10 while Malaysia will start on January 1, 2026. However, parents who still allow children under 16 to access social media will not be subject to any penalties in Malaysia.
