Children spend a lot of time on social media. Should the EU regulate to protect children from addiction to such media? Tonight we talk about this question with two lawyers specializing in platform regulation and consumer law, an MEP and a remedial educationalist specializing in children's online media use.
There are calls from several quarters for European rules to protect children from excessive use of social media. The European Parliament has asked the European Commission to examine whether new rules are needed to protect consumers, especially children, from addictive online services. A report commissioned by President Macron advocates banning social media until the age of 18. Macron also favors an EU-wide ban on social media for children.
Is it within the tasks of the EU to make rules to protect children's health? What is the role of consumer law and other existing rules here? If the EU makes new rules, how far should those rules go and what should social media be able to fill in themselves? And how would new rules relate to the parenting freedom of parents and the freedoms of children?
Ina Koning is Associate Professor of Developmental Pedagogy at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. She is an expert on growing up and raising children in the digital world. Ina's work revolves around research on healthy screen use, and through co-creation she contributes to (inter)national/local policy and practice. A recent example of her research is her position paper "Healthy Screen Use and Children's Online Rights. Among other things, Ina is a member of the Kijkwijzer science committee and a board member of the European Society of Prevention Research.
Felix Blommaert is aPhD candidate in European Platform Regulation at the Free University of Amsterdam.
Kim van Sparrentak is an MEP.
Martien Schaub is Associate Professor of Contract Law at the Erasmus School of Law in Rotterdam. Her research focuses on electronic contracting and online consumer protection. She studied Dutch law and European law and wrote her dissertation on the European legal framework governing e-commerce. Her research questions include concurrence of legal rules and the influence of European law on national contract law.
Eline Leijten (moderator) is a lecturer and researcher in Law and Technology at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Her research focuses, among other things, on the protection of children's rights on online platforms and the role of the AVG therein. Eline is also a tech entrepreneur and former Dutch pitching champion. She regularly participates in public debate, is an advocate for women's rights and gender equality in the Netherlands, and is a board member of several foundations, such as the Ceasefire Collective.
