{"id":721237,"date":"2026-04-12T07:30:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T04:30:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/estonia-is-the-rare-eu-country-opposing-bans-on-childrens-social-media-use-5\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T07:30:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T04:30:22","slug":"estonia-is-the-rare-eu-country-opposing-bans-on-childrens-social-media-use-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/estonia-is-the-rare-eu-country-opposing-bans-on-childrens-social-media-use-5\/","title":{"rendered":"Estonia is the rare EU country opposing bans on children\u2019s social media use"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2324dfaca20\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2324dfaca20\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/estonia-is-the-rare-eu-country-opposing-bans-on-childrens-social-media-use-5\/#The_declaration_most_EU_countries_signed\" >The declaration most EU countries signed<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/estonia-is-the-rare-eu-country-opposing-bans-on-childrens-social-media-use-5\/#Why_Estonia_said_no\" >Why Estonia said no<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/estonia-is-the-rare-eu-country-opposing-bans-on-childrens-social-media-use-5\/#The_enforcement_problem_Estonia_is_pointing_to\" >The enforcement problem Estonia is pointing to<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/estonia-is-the-rare-eu-country-opposing-bans-on-childrens-social-media-use-5\/#What_comes_next_in_Brussels\" >What comes next in Brussels<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/04\/estonia-eu-child-social-media-ban-opposition.png\" \/><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-main-content\">\n<p><em><strong>In short:<\/strong><span>\u00a0<\/span>Estonia and Belgium are the only two EU member states to have declined the Jutland Declaration, an October 2025 pan-European commitment to restrict children\u2019s access to <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social media<\/a>. Estonia\u2019s ministers argue that age-based bans are unenforceable, that children will find ways around them, and that the correct <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>roach is to enforce the GDPR against the platforms themselves and invest in digital literacy rather than restricting young people\u2019s participation in the information society.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_declaration_most_EU_countries_signed\"><\/span>The declaration most EU countries signed<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>On 10 October 2025, digital ministers from 25 of the European Union\u2019s 27 member states signed the Jutland Declaration at an informal gathering in Horsens, Denmark. Norway and Iceland also signed. The declaration is a non-binding political commitment to introduce privacy-preserving age verification on social media platforms, protect minors from addictive design features and dark patterns, and work toward what the document describes as a \u201cdigital legal age\u201d for access to online services. Estonia and Belgium were the two EU members that declined. Belgium\u2019s refusal came from a veto by Flemish Media Minister Cieltje Van Achter, who described the declaration\u2019s age verification requirements as disproportionate and objected to requiring children to use national identity systems such as Itsme to access services like YouTube or Instagram. Estonia\u2019s refusal was substantively different: principled rather than procedural, and rooted in a broader argument about where Europe\u2019s regulatory effort should be directed. The political momentum the declaration reflects is considerable.<span>\u00a0<\/span>Europe\u2019s social media age shift accelerated through 2025 and into 2026, with Australia implementing the world\u2019s first ban on under-16s from December 2025, France passing legislation in January 2026 to prohibit under-15s, Spain enacting restrictions for under-16s in February 2026, and Austria moving to restrict children under 14.<span>\u00a0<\/span>Greece announced it would ban under-15s from social media from 2027, part of a six-country EU grouping that also includes Denmark, France, Austria, Portugal, and Spain. On 20 November 2025, the European Parliament backed a non-binding resolution calling for an EU-wide digital minimum age of 16 by 483 votes to 92, with 86 abstentions, and called on the European Commission to incorporate the measure into the forthcoming Digital Fairness Act.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_Estonia_said_no\"><\/span>Why Estonia said no<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Estonia\u2019s dissent is articulated by two ministers who have approached the question from different but complementary angles. Kristina Kallas, Minister of Education and Research, has been the more outspoken critic of the ban consensus. At a Politico forum in Barcelona, Kallas argued that age restrictions place responsibility on the wrong party. \u201cThe way to approach this, to me, is not to make kids responsible for that harm and start self-regulating,\u201d she said. Her corresponding argument is that the responsibility should fall on the platforms. \u201cEurope pretends to be weak when it comes to big American and international corporations,\u201d she told the forum, challenging the EU to \u201cactually take this power and start regulating the big American corporations.\u201d She was also direct about the practical limits of ban-based approaches: \u201ckids will find very quickly the ways to go around and to still use social media.\u201d That argument connects to<span>\u00a0<\/span>Europe\u2019s broader effort to assert its regulatory power over American <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> companies, a project that has gathered considerable momentum since 2025 but has not yet been applied with comparable force to social media content governance. Liisa-Ly Pakosta, Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs, has framed the positive case for Estonia\u2019s preferred approach. \u201cEstonia believes in an information society and including young people in the information society,\u201d she has said, emphasising digital participation rather than exclusion. Pakosta has pointed to the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">General<\/a> Data Protection Regulation as the enforcement mechanism already available: the GDPR prohibits platforms from processing children\u2019s personal data without appropriate consent and carries fines of up to 4% of global annual turnover for violations. Estonia\u2019s argument, in essence, is that Europe has not exhausted its existing tools before reaching for a new and unproven one.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_enforcement_problem_Estonia_is_pointing_to\"><\/span>The enforcement problem Estonia is pointing to<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Estonia\u2019s critique of the ban model has a concrete reference point. Australia became the first country in the world to enforce a social media ban for minors on 10 December 2025, prohibiting anyone under 16 from holding accounts on platforms including Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat, X, and Facebook. Platforms face fines of up to approximately A$50 million for failing to take reasonable steps to prevent underage access. In the months after the ban came into force,<span>\u00a0<\/span>the eSafety Commissioner found Meta, TikTok, and YouTube were not complying with the ban, with the regulator proceeding to court action against the platforms. The compliance picture was bleak: seven in ten children who had held social media accounts before the ban still had active accounts after it took effect. Workarounds including VPNs, false birth dates, and the transfer of accounts to adult relatives proved straightforward and were widely adopted. Whether the Australian experience represents the definitive verdict on the ban model, or merely an early implementation struggle that stricter enforcement will eventually resolve, remains contested. What is not contested is that the world\u2019s first and most closely watched age ban produced a high rate of non-compliance within months of introduction, and that this outcome was predicted in advance by critics who argued the compliance burden would be met by creative circumvention rather than by genuine restriction.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_comes_next_in_Brussels\"><\/span>What comes next in Brussels<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The practical arena for the contest between Estonia\u2019s platform-enforcement approach and the ban-majority\u2019s position is the Digital Fairness Act, the European Commission\u2019s forthcoming legislation targeting addictive design, dark patterns, and manipulative commercial practices in digital services. The European Parliament\u2019s November 2025 vote made explicit that it wants a 16-plus digital minimum age incorporated into the DFA text, along with bans on engagement-based recommender algorithms for users who are minors, restrictions on loot boxes, and a default-off requirement for infinite scroll, autoplay, and pull-to-refresh mechanisms on services used by young people. The Commission is expected to table the DFA proposal in the fourth quarter of 2026. That timeline gives Estonia a legislative window in which to argue for a platform-accountability framework to sit alongside, or in place of, an age-based access restriction. The two approaches are not necessarily mutually exclusive, but they reflect genuinely different theories of where regulatory leverage is most effectively applied: against the commercial platforms that build and profit from the systems in question, or against the young people who have grown up treating social media as ordinary infrastructure.<span>\u00a0<\/span>2025 established AI as the defining technology of the decade, and as AI-powered recommendation systems become the primary mechanism by which young people encounter content online, the question of who bears legal and regulatory responsibility for what those systems serve to a 14-year-old is one that Europe will have to answer in law, not just in declarations.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/estonia-eu-child-social-media-ban-opposition\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In short:\u00a0Estonia and Belgium are the only two EU member states to have declined the Jutland Declaration, an October 2025 pan-European commitment to restrict children\u2019s access to social media. Estonia\u2019s ministers argue that age-based bans are unenforceable, that children will find ways around them, and that the correct approach is to enforce the GDPR against&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-721237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/721237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=721237"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/721237\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=721237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=721237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=721237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}