Michael McGrath has expressed support for exploring a potential “common EU-wide approach” to determining when teenagers and young people can access social media, amid rising concerns over online platform use.
Speaking to RTÉ’s European Parliament Report programme, Mr McGrath noted that several member states are considering introducing their own minimum age laws for social media, reports RTE.
He said each member state retains the right to decide whether and how to act under its domestic laws.
However, he added that a unified EU-wide approach could be more effective in addressing online safety, and he would support examining such a measure, reports RTE.
“We have seen a number of initiatives at member state level being announced about setting a new minimum age for children to be on social media.
“That is the right of member states, they can set a new digital majority age in their member state,” he said, reports RTE.
“[But] I do think that in so far as possible the objective here should be to have a common EU-wide approach because I think would be much more effective,” he added.
Responding to Mr McGrath, Labour MEP Aodhán Ó Ríordáin said “everything should be on the table”, reports RTE.
He warned that “the damage these social media platforms are having on young people is untold when you think about what is happening after the pandemic has been compounded by a lot of the bile online”.
Mr Ó Ríordáin noted that a debate is underway in Ireland over “banning it for under 16s”, following a similar approach in Australia, and he personally supports curtailing certain social media sites across the EU, including X, reports RTE.
He cautioned, however, that “the Australian experience sounded good, but we are just not sure how effective it was, so whatever we do we have to make sure it works”.
Sinn Féin MEP Kathleen Funchion said that “as a parent your instinct is to say ‘ban’, but I’m not sure if that really is the right approach and response”, reports RTE.
“I definitely think, with social media, we need to see far more regulation and far more accountability and actual action taken,” she added.
Fianna Fáil MEP Barry Cowen said, “We’re a generation which is anxious to protect younger generations growing up with this available to them, and we can recognise certain aspects and fears and concerns that they wouldn’t necessarily”, reports RTE.
“So I’m glad to hear him [Michael McGrath] saying he is anxious to bring forward EU-wide proposals, which would be much stronger than individual nations on their own,” he added, reports RTE.
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