Our coverage of social-media bans for under-13s – and the impact it might have for the music industry – continues with strong hints that the European Commission may soon announce its own plans along those lines.
No, they haven’t been announced yet, but they were strongly trailed in a speech by EC president Ursula von der Leyen this week, as she launched a report on child safety online.
“We in Europe believe that parents bring up our kids, and not predatory algorithms,” said von der Leyen. “The status quo, a world where we continue to allow big tech unrestricted access to our children, will only consign another generation to more mental harm, addiction and misery.”
She then outlined the measures she would like to see put in place.
“It is clear we need age-appropriate restrictions to platforms. This is not about whether children can access social media. It is about whether and when social media can access our children,” said von der Leyen.
“The more we learn, and the more we see the impact on our children, the stronger the argument becomes for a social media start date. Just as we do not give our children keys to the car before they have their licence or let them buy alcohol until they are legally allowed, we need to set the age at which they can legally access social media.”
The EC president also talked about these rules applying to “social media plus”, defined as “mainly social media platforms, but also other providers with age-inappropriate and addictive features… when we have this clearly defined category, I believe we need to consider phased and gradual access for different age ranges.”
That will put many companies on notice, including video services and music-streaming services with social and communication features.
Any upcoming announcements from the latter on child-safety features can be seen in this context: yes, they’ll be about protecting children and reassuring parents, but also about satisfying regulators.
The European Commission certainly isn’t a body you want to be dissatisfied with your efforts as a digital service.
Just last week it preliminarily found Meta in breach of its Digital Services Act over “the addictive design of Instagram and Facebook” and not adequately assessing the risks of that for users “including minors and vulnerable adults”.
If a European Union-wide ban on social media for kids does come in – and yes, it will take a while – it will extend the territories in which music marketers need to consider the impact on their campaigns.
Our recent Sandbox Guide explores that, including some positive thoughts. These bans can encourage artists to stop relying on rented algorithms and pivot towards their owned communication channels, for example.
Evidence so far from Australia also points to opportunities to refocus on world-building and creative marketing; to devise more real-world, in-person experiences for younger fans; and the potential for a continued resurgence in physical music and media.
