Germany’s Merz joins calls for social media limits for children

BERLIN – Chancellor Friedrich Merz backed growing calls in Germany for controls on access to social media platforms by children.

He said he had become increasingly persuaded of the need for compulsory limits by evidence of the harm done by the deliberate spreading of fake news and other forms of online manipulation.

“Do we want to allow artificially generated false news, fake news, artificially generated films and misrepresentations to be spread via social media?” he asked in a speech ahead of the annual conference of his conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party.

“Do we want to allow our society to be undermined in this way, both internally and externally, and our young people and children to be endangered in this way?” he said, noting that 14-year-olds spent an average of 5½ hours a day online.

The CDU party conference on Feb 20 is due to debate a motion calling for a ban on allowing access to platforms like TikTok or Instagram for children under the age of 16, and similar calls have been made by Mr Merz’s centre-left Social Democrat coalition partners.

A growing number of countries in Europe, including Spain, Greece, France and Britain, are looking at similar social media bans or restrictions, following the example of Australia, which in 2025 became the first country in the world to force platforms to cut off access for children.

“Two years ago, I would probably have said something different on this subject, but I completely underestimated, as we all probably did, the significance of algorithms, artificial intelligence, and targeted and controlled influence. From within, and also and especially from outside,” Mr Merz said.

He dismissed arguments that, instead of controls, young people should be introduced to social media slowly, saying it was equivalent to arguing that six-year-olds should be taught to drink alcohol.

Mr Merz’s support for the pressure coming from both parties in the coalition makes it increasingly likely that the federal government will push for restrictions. However, under Germany’s federal system, media regulation is a state-level responsibility, and the states must negotiate with one another to agree on consistent nationwide rules.

There has been growing discussion of the potential negative effects of social media on children in Germany, and the government in 2025 appointed a special commission to look into protecting young people from potential harm online. That commission is expected to report later in 2026. REUTERS