The European Parliament voted today to push the EU toward tougher rules for social media platforms, algorithms and online services, putting child protection at the center of Europe’s next digital-policy fight.
MEPs backed the proposals by 395 votes to 136, with 80 abstentions, calling for an “integrated European strategy” to make the internet safer for young people.
The vote does not itself create a new EU law. But it sends a clear political signal to the European Commission, national governments and the technology industry as Brussels weighs the next phase of its digital regulation agenda.
At the heart of Parliament’s position is the simple proposition that responsibility for children’s online safety should not rest primarily with parents and children.
MEPs are calling for platforms to take greater responsibility for addictive and manipulative design, harmful content and the recommendation systems that determine what users see. They want risk-based safeguards for recommender systems and measures targeting what they describe as the most addictive practices.
“Algorithms do not stop at borders: Europe needs common rules,” said Italian lawmaker Sandro Ruotolo, the report’s Socialists and Democrats (S&D) rapporteur.
He called for no social media access below 13, supervised access for 13- to 15-year-olds and, among other measures, a one-hour daily limit. He also argued that platforms, rather than children and families alone, should bear greater responsibility for making their products safe.
Parliament’s demands extend well beyond age limits as MEPs demand platforms to introduce privacy-preserving age verification, increase transparency around algorithms and offer a “youth mode” that would disable targeted advertising for minors. They are also calling for mandatory ethical standards for so-called AI companions.
The proposals also reach into generative artificial intelligence. Parliament wants greater transparency around the training of AI models and measures to prevent AI systems from generating or manipulating sexual images or videos of people without their consent.
From Parliament to Commission
Thursday’s vote now puts the issue firmly on the EU policy agenda, but Parliament’s resolution is an own-initiative report rather than legislation that automatically becomes binding law. The European Parliament’s Legislative Observatory lists the file as an undergoing procedure with the Culture and Education Committee responsible and Ruotolo as rapporteur.
That distinction matters since turning the Parliament’s proposals into binding requirements would require further action through the EU legislative process. The Commission will also have to navigate the existing regulatory framework, including the Digital Services Act and the forthcoming review of audiovisual rules.
Thursday’s vote therefore represents another step in an expanding European debate over how far regulation should go in reshaping the digital environment around children.
And the numbers underline why the issue is politically difficult to ignore.
According to Eurostat data cited by Parliament, 98 percent of EU young people aged 16 to 29 use the internet every day. In 2025, social networking was the most common online activity among young people, with an average of 89 percent using social networks to create profiles or post messages.
For Brussels, the question is increasingly shifting from whether children should be protected online to how much responsibility should fall on the platforms that design and operate the digital spaces they use.
Thursday’s vote puts Parliament squarely on the side of greater platform responsibility. The next move will be up to the Commission and EU countries and, ultimately, lawmakers will have to decide which of Parliament’s demands can become enforceable rules.
(Sources: Eurostat, European Commission)
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