Experts say EU lacks legal authority for Dutch plan to ban social media for children

The new Dutch coalition wants to push for a European ban on social media for children under 15, but legal experts interviewed by RTL say the plan faces major obstacles because the European Union does not have the authority to impose such a rule.

The proposal, backed by D66, VVD and CDA, is included in the coalition agreement and calls for “an enforceable European minimum age of 15 for social media.” Rather than following other countries with national measures, the coalition wants the issue regulated at the EU level and says the Netherlands will work with a “core group” of member states to argue for joint European policy.

That approach is already raising doubts among jurists. Peter Kager, a lawyer at ICTRecht, told RTL Z that EU treaties do not give Brussels the power to set a minimum age for social media use. “Member states have agreed among themselves: this the EU may do, and this it may not,” Kager said. “We have a number of treaties on which the EU is based, and it appears those treaties do not provide that room.”

Several countries have moved ahead nationally. Australia, Spain and France have introduced or announced minimum-age rules for social media, while Denmark, Norway, the United Kingdom and Austria are considering similar steps. Support for restrictions on young teenagers’ social media use is also growing in the Netherlands.

University of Utrecht law and technology lecturer Catalina Goanta said the issue is not primarily about regulating technology companies. “Contrary to what you might think, this is not simply about regulating tech platforms,” she told RTL. “This is about whether a citizen, a child, is able to oversee the consequences of a decision.” She said this type of assessment underpins age limits in other areas, adding: “If you are 12 years old, you also cannot drive a car, because your brain is not sufficiently developed.”

According to Goanta, laws designed to protect vulnerable groups, such as children, fall under the responsibility of individual member states. The assumption that a 13-year-old is not yet able to handle social media safely is therefore a matter for national lawmakers, not the EU.

That view has been echoed at the European level. Politico has previously quoted multiple experts who said the EU is unlikely to be competent to set a minimum age. European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said in June last year that an EU-wide ban was not planned because it is “a right of the member states.”

Coalition lawmakers argue that a European approach would still be more effective. CDA lawmaker Jantine Zwinkels said EU cooperation would “strengthen Europe’s joint position toward Big Tech and prevent fragmentation of rules.” D66 lawmaker Hanneke van der Werf said acting together in Europe would be “the most effective” way to proceed.

Despite those hurdles, pressure is building as more member states move ahead on their own. Goanta said it is possible that “the moral panic becomes so great” that the European Commission will start searching for a legal workaround. The European Parliament has already submitted a proposal for a European minimum age.

For now, jurists say workable legal options remain limited. Goanta pointed to the upcoming Digital Fairness Act, expected by the end of the year, as the most realistic avenue, although experts quoted by Politico do not expect rapid action. The Commission is also assembling a panel of experts, including parents and lawyers, to advise on a possible minimum age, but Regnier said there is no timetable yet.

If the European route proves too slow or legally impossible, national legislation could still come into play. Zwinkels said that option is not excluded. Van der Werf said D66 does not want to speculate but noted the coalition is already focusing domestically on reducing screen time in classrooms so that “education and mutual contact once again take center stage.”