Gesellschaftliche Teilhabe in digitalen Lebensräumen / Katholische Jugendverbände kritisieren Social-Media-Altersgrenze

Catholic youth associations are criticizing a European Union proposal to set a minimum age of 15 for creating social media accounts. The Federation of German Catholic Youth (BDKJ) stated in Düsseldorf on Friday that while children and young people deserve protection, they also have a right to participate in digital society.

Lisa Quarch, the federal chairwoman of the BDKJ, said that protection should not result in exclusion. She argued that a strict age limit for independent social media accounts will not solve problems such as hate speech, digital violence, manipulative platform designs, or insufficient moderation.