Governments across Europe are intensifying efforts to rein in major social media companies, citing mounting public anxiety over child safety online. The moves come as officials seek to address fears about harmful content and adolescent well-being, while navigating potential diplomatic tensions with the United States, where many of the largest technology firms are based.
Spain on Tuesday instructed prosecutors to examine whether Meta, which owns Facebook, along with X and TikTok, may have facilitated the spread of artificial intelligence-generated sexual images involving minors, according to Reuters. The action follows similar steps taken in Britain. In Ireland, regulators have launched a formal investigation into X’s AI chatbot Grok, focusing on how it handles personal data and whether it has generated harmful sexualized content, per Reuters.
The national probes are part of a broader European push to tighten oversight of social media platforms. In recent weeks, France, Spain, Greece, Denmark, Slovenia and the Czech Republic have advanced proposals to prohibit adolescents from accessing social media, echoing measures introduced in Australia, according to Reuters. Germany and Britain are also considering comparable restrictions.
Officials cite growing concerns over social media addiction, cyberbullying and declining academic performance among young people as drivers of the proposed bans. The wave of national initiatives reflects a sense of urgency among lawmakers, but also dissatisfaction with the pace of action at the European Union level. Politicians and policy experts have suggested that individual governments are acting independently because they doubt Brussels will move swiftly or decisively enough, according to Reuters.
Under the European Union’s Digital Services Act, which came into force in 2024, major online platforms can face fines of up to 6% of their global annual turnover if they fail to address illegal or harmful content. However, enforcing those penalties is politically sensitive. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned of potential tariffs and sanctions if EU member states introduce new digital taxes or apply regulations in ways that significantly affect American technology firms, per Reuters.
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The European Commission has rejected claims that it has been lenient toward large U.S. companies. In a statement released online Tuesday, it noted that it has opened multiple investigations, including into X and its use of the Grok chatbot. “Through measures like the DSA, the EU is shaping Europe’s digital future. It is supporting, funding and regulating new technologies with a goal to strengthen democracy,” the Commission said, according to Reuters.
The debate has at times escalated into sharp rhetoric. French President Emmanuel Macron previously characterized U.S. resistance to European tech regulation as a “geopolitical battle,” according to Reuters. In December, Trump’s administration warned that Europe faced “civilizational erasure” and encouraged the United States to promote “resistance to Europe’s current trajectory,” per Reuters.
Spanish Consumer Rights Minister Pablo Bustinduy said in an interview with Le Grand Continent that Spain’s measures aim to “break free from digital dependence on the United States,” and suggested that some platforms are being used to “destabilize European democracies from within,” according to Reuters.
Recent changes to the Digital Services Act guidelines have also spurred national action. A modification on July 14 permitting national age-restriction laws prompted Denmark to pursue its own measures, its digitalization ministry told Reuters. In Spain, Youth and Children Minister Sira Rego said the immediate catalyst for proposing a ban on social media use for those under 16 — along with legislation to hold platform executives accountable for hate speech — was the alleged generation by Grok of non-consensual sexual images of minors, per Reuters.
For Macron, who has linked social media to rising youth violence, the fatal stabbing of a school aide by a 14-year-old student in June marked a turning point. He said he would advocate for a European-wide prohibition on adolescent social media use and, failing that, consider unilateral action within France, according to Reuters.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has also voiced alarm about the impact of digital platforms on children. After reading Jonathan Haidt’s book “The Anxious Generation,” which contends that smartphones and social media are reshaping young minds, Mitsotakis described the experience as “an eye-opening experience,” according to Reuters. “We are running the biggest unchecked experiment with our children’s brains ever,” he said, per Reuters.
Source: Reuters
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