By Admin 
Some leaders of the ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD) in Germany, along with their coalition partners, have demanded a ban on the use of social media for children. He says that children below 14 years of age should not be allowed to use social media. In Germany, the discussion about the bad effects of social media on children is intensifying. For this reason, there is increasing pressure on the government to limit children’s access to platforms like Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube like Australia.
SPD MPs and leaders have said in a proposal that social media should be completely closed for children under 14 years of age. At the same time, a separate youth version of social media should be created for children aged 14 to 16 years. This young version will neither have an algorithm-driven feed nor content shown according to personal preferences. Apart from this, there will be no features like non-stop scrolling and auto-playing videos. This proposal also states that all users above 16 years of age should be given the option to keep algorithm based suggestions (recommendation system) turned off by default.
Demand for a complete ban on social media
The document follows a similar proposal from Merz’s Conservative Party, which calls for a complete ban on social media for children under 16. This proposal is to be discussed in his party meeting this week. Due to pressure from both the parties involved in the alliance, the possibility has now increased that the government will take steps towards imposing strict rules on social media. However, under Germany’s federal system, rules related to media come under the authority of state governments, so to make uniform rules throughout the country, all the states will have to negotiate among themselves and reach a consensus.
Ban on social media platforms in Australia
Last year, Australia became the first country in the world to ban social media platforms for children under 16 years of age. After this, many countries of Europe have also started considering taking similar steps. In Germany, the government last year created a special commission to protect children and youth from potential harm online. This commission can submit its report by the end of this year.