Cabinet backs EU-wide minimum age for social media

The government has backed an EU-wide minimum age for social media, ahead of proposals from Brussels expected next week.

The Netherlands and Spain have sent joint proposals to the European Commission calling for a single minimum age across the bloc, with privacy-friendly age checks.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen is expected to outline how the bloc can can limit social media by children in her annual State of the Union speech to the European Parliament next Wednesday.

“In the physical world we do not accept that products are unsafe for children,” junior digital economy minister Willemijn Aerdts (D66) said in a statement. “The same standard must apply online.”

D66, VVD and CDA agreed in their coalition agreement to push for an enforceable European minimum age of 15. The joint paper with Spain does not name an age, but Aerdts told broadcaster NOS that 15 remains the Dutch position.

Australia became the first country in the world to bar under-16s from platforms such as Facebook and Instagram in December 2025. France’s ban on under-15s took effect this month, and the UK has announced a ban on under-16s from 2027.

The proposal faces criticism, including from privacy advocates worried about how age verification would work in practice.

Brussels unveiled an age-check app in April, but a security researcher demonstrated a way to bypass it within hours of the launch, and the commission had to issue a patch.