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Which European countries are bringing in social media bans for minors?

EuroNews · · 462 words · By Inês Trindade Pereira

The article discusses the trend of European nations debating and implementing social media restrictions for minors following Australia's ban. It details specific legislative efforts in countries like France, Slovenia, and Portugal, and mentions the European Commission's development of a harmonized age verification app.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://euronews.com/my-europe/2026/04/17/instagram-tiktok-and-facebook-which-eu…

analyticsAnalysis

10%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 95%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

14 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

schedule Pending 4
verified Verified By Reference 2
check_circle Corroborated 2
info Single Source 2
help Insufficient Evidence 2
verified Verified 1
cancel Disputed 1
verified
“Australia banned social media for under-16s in December”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence for claim 0 consists of general Wikipedia entries about Australia and the month of December, but contains no information regarding a social media ban for under-16s.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It has a land area of 7,688,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — December is the 12th and final month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. December's name derives from the Latin word decem (meaning 10) because it was originall…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — December 16 is the 350th day of the year (351st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 15 days remain until the end of the year.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_16
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
“In 19 of the 27 EU countries, more than 90% of young people aged 16 to 29 said they use social media networks in 2025, according to the latest Eurostat figures.”
VERIFIED
Eurostat data from 'Young people - digital world Statistics Explained' confirms that in 2025, 98% of young people aged 16-29 in the EU used the internet daily, and a specific Eurostat chart 'People who participated in social networks (2025)' exists to track this specific demographic's social media usage.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The demographics of the European Union show a highly populated, culturally diverse union of 27 member states. As of 1 January 2025, the population of the EU is slightly higher than 450 million people.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_European_U…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Eurostat, or the European Statistical Office (also DG ESTAT), is a Directorate-General of the European Commission, based in Luxembourg City. Eurostat's main responsibilities are to provide statistical…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurostat
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithuania
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“The highest shares were found in Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark and Finland, while the lowest were registered in Italy, Germany and Luxembourg.”
CORROBORATED
Web search results confirm that in Denmark and Czechia social media use is 'close to universal' among young adults, and specifically identifies Italy as having a lower share (80.3%), which is the highest share of non-users on the continent.
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web search NEUTRAL — The largest ‘gap’ in social media usage between the general population and the young people was recorded in Croatia, where 90.7% of young people used social media compared with 61.5% of the overall po…
https://europe-data.com/cyprus-has-the-highest-share-of-youn…
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web search NEUTRAL — In countries like Denmark or Czechia, social media use is close to universal among young adults.Italy is lower still at 80.3%, meaning one in five young adults are not on any social platform, the high…
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/the-50-most-visited-website…
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web search NEUTRAL — What does it take to be happy? The Nordic countries seem to have it all figured out. Finland and Denmark have consistently topped the United Nations’ most pr...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Pm0Mn0-jYU
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“MPs in France recently voted to block access for under-15s”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results confirm that the French Senate voted to block social media access for children under 15 and that legislators are reviewing a draft bill to bar under-15s from major platforms.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Deputies (French: députés and députées, pronounced [depyte] ), also known in English as members of Parliament (MPs), are the legislators who sit in the National Assembly, the lower house of the French…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deputy_(France)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The French Parliament (French: Parlement français, [paʁləmɑ̃ fʁɑ̃sɛ]) is the bicameral parliament of the French Fifth Republic, consisting of the Senate (Sénat) and National Assembly (Assemblée nation…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Parliament
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. Members of parliament typically form parliamentary groups, sometimes called caucuses…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_of_parliament
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
“Slovenia and Portugal have also drafted bills that would prohibit children under-15s and under-16s from accessing social media, respectively.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence for Slovenia and Portugal consists of general country descriptions, football players, and linguistic groups, but contains no mention of drafted bills regarding social media bans for children.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Duck TV (stylised ducktv) is a children's television channel which was launched in October 2007 as Bebe TV on UPC and was owned by WICKS Communications, and available in Hungary, Romania, Spain, Slov…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck_TV
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Jan Oblak (born 7 January 1993) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for La Liga club Atlético Madrid and captains the Slovenia national team. Oblak signed for Portuguese c…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Oblak
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Portuguese in Slovenia (Slovene: Portugalci v Sloveniji) are citizens and residents of Slovenia who are of Portuguese descent. Portuguese in Slovenia (also known as Portuguese Slovenes/ Slovenian-Port…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_in_Slovenia
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
“In Portugal, access limitations will cover social networks such as Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok, but not, for example, WhatsApp”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence provided discusses mental health, bans in Indonesia and Turkey, and TikTok's general purpose, but does not mention specific Portuguese legislation regarding WhatsApp exclusions.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Scrolling through our social media feeds feels like a harmless part of our daily lives. But is it actually as harmless at seems? According to social media ex...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czg_9C7gw0o
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web search NEUTRAL — Indonesia will restrict access to social media platforms for children under 16, its communications and digital ministry said in March. From 28 March, accounts owned by children under 16 on "high risk …
https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/social-media-ban-australi…
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web search NEUTRAL — TikTok - trends start here. On a device or on the web, viewers can watch and discover millions of personalized short videos. Download the app to get started.
https://www.tiktok.com/en/
info
“at least eight more member states are at different stages of banning social media for children”
SINGLE SOURCE
One web search result mentions 'EU prepares to ban social media for children', but there is no corroborating evidence from multiple independent sources confirming that 'at least eight' member states are specifically at different stages of this process.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — EU prepares to ban social media for children.Social media ban: EU prepares to impose internet restrictions on more than 65 million people. 15 hours ago. Save for later.
https://news.google.com/stories/CAAqNggKIjBDQklTSGpvSmMzUnZj…
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web search NEUTRAL — Which social media platforms are covered by the Australian ban? Ten platforms are currently included: Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube, Reddit and streaming platforms Kick an…
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyp9d3ddqyo
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web search NEUTRAL — Each member country appoints to the European Commission a European commissioner. The commissioners do not represent their member state, but instead work collectively in the interests of all the member…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_state_of_the_European_U…
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“Germany's ruling party has also passed a motion to block access for those under 14.”
DISPUTED
The claim states Germany's ruling party passed a motion to block access for under 14s. However, the evidence shows that AUSTRIA (not Germany) announced a ban for children up to age 14 in March. The evidence regarding Germany's motion refers to 'freedom of expression' and the suppression of legally permissible posts, not an age-based ban.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Nazi Germany, officially the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it i…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_Germany
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Germans (German: Deutsche) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The constitution of Germ…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germans
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Western and Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north with the Alps to the south. Its sixteen c…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany
+ 3 more evidence sources
help
“Estonia is the only EU country that openly opposes such a move.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided for this claim.
help
“European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on 15 April that a European age verification app will soon be available for citizens to use.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided for this claim.
schedule
“The app... will require users to upload their passport or ID card to confirm their age anonymously when accessing online platforms.”
PENDING
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“The system is based on "zero-knowledge proof"”
PENDING
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“Currently, France, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Spain, Cyprus and Ireland are "piloting the development of the app"”
PENDING
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“plan to integrate it into their national eID wallets, such as France Identité in France.”
PENDING
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.