Far too often children encounter everything from illegal and harmful content to hate speech, grooming, and misuse of their data. Many young people struggle to escape the grip of social media, whose addictive features keep them on the platforms for longer than they actually want.
Protecting children and young people on social media and other online platforms is therefore high on the political agenda during the Danish EU Presidency, and today an important milestone was reached:
At the Informal Council Meeting of the EU’s digital ministers in Horsens, ministers from 27 European countries agreed on a joint declaration on the protection of minors online: ”The Jutland Declaration: Shaping a Safe Online World for Minors’ led by the Danish Minister for Digital Affairs, Caroline Stage:
”Time and again, studies paint the same picture. Our children are growing up in a digital environment that is not built for them and where they are not sufficiently protected. All doors are left wide open – including those leading to harmful and illegal content. Those doors must be closed. I am therefore proud to have wide coalition of European countries in support of our joint declaration. The declaration sets the scene for the continued work to protect children and young people in the EU,” says Danish Minister for Digital Affairs, Caroline Stage.
The ministerial declaration sets an ambitious political direction for the work to protect children and young people online ahead of upcoming initiatives from the European Commission. The declaration highlights the need for a clear European legal requirement for social media to implement effective and privacy-safe age verification, as well as for regulation of harmful practices on digital services, such as addictive designs and dark patterns.
The Informal Council Meeting took place on the 9th and 10th of October with a visit in LEGO Campus in Billund, a dinner in the former Horsens State Prison, THE PRISON, and finally, discussion sessions in Forum Horsens.
Read more about the Informal meeting here: EU Ministers will meet to discuss better protection of minors online.
For more information:
Press advisor, Michael Højgaard Bang, mihb@digmin.dk, tlf. +45 72 28 24 16