How Europe Is Shaping a New Era of Social Media Regulation

In its quest for digital governance, a growing number of EU governments are moving towards imposing targeted bans on social media platforms for teenagers.

Some of these countries have already begun developing national age verification apps, raising the question of whether an EU-wide approach would be more appropriate.

Given this surge in activity and the cross-border nature of digital services, the European Commission has established a committee of experts to study the feasibility of age restrictions on social media platforms and the establishment of a so-called digital minimum age.

While X has recently been making headlines, it is not the only target of this escalating European campaign.

Other platforms are also under scrutiny by European authorities, including TikTok and Meta's platforms (Facebook and Instagram).

European regulators previously fined Instagram a record €405 million in 2022 for failing to protect children's privacy, following an investigation that revealed the platform allowed 13- to 17-year-olds to create accounts that publicly displayed their personal information. 

Meta is also currently facing pressure to comply with new European laws prohibiting the targeting of minors with personalized ads without prior consent. 

This has forced the company to introduce ad-free paid subscriptions for European users as an alternative to comply with the bloc's regulations.

European Measures

Europe has recently taken unprecedented steps to pressure social media giants accused of designing their platforms to addict teenagers, manipulate algorithms, and spread misinformation and hate speech.

With the implementation of new European laws, the continent is no longer content with symbolic fines or recommendations against companies, most of which are multinational and headquartered in the United States. 

Instead, it has moved to more overt measures: raids, summonses, and attempts to impose criminal liability on platform operators.

In France, police raided the headquarters of X in Paris and summoned its owner, Elon Musk, as part of a broad investigation that began in January 2025 into suspected misuse of algorithms and user data.

Because X abandoned its ‘SAFER’ child protection tool in 2025 and adopted an internal system, the prosecution is investigating whether this facilitated the spread of child sexual abuse material through X’s algorithm and its Grok tool.

Throughout 2025, the investigation expanded to include the platform’s AI tool, Grok, particularly after new evidence emerged later that year.

French prosecution documents detail a list of serious charges, including complicity in the possession and distribution of child sexual abuse images and privacy violations through deepfake pornography.

As a result, Elon Musk and former CEO Linda Yaccarino have been summoned to a voluntary hearing in Paris next April, as they were the platform’s executives at the time the violations occurred.

X has denied all the allegations and strongly condemned the raid, calling it an arbitrary show of force aimed at achieving illegitimate political goals by pressuring the company’s US management. 

Meanwhile, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also announced a package of strict measures to regulate social media.

In a speech, he stated that the government will protect children from the brutal world of the internet, which he described as a failed state where laws are violated and crimes are committed with impunity.

Sanchez's statements included direct criticism of Musk, accusing him of using his personal X account to amplify misinformation about a recent sovereign decision by his government to regularize the status of 500,000 undocumented immigrants residing in Spain and contributing to its economy.

Musk responded to these statements with a barrage of personal insults against the Spanish Prime Minister, initially calling him a tyrant and a traitor to the Spanish people, before escalating his attack and labeling him a true totalitarian fascist.

This public spat between a prominent European statesman and the owner of a global social media platform has highlighted the growing tension between some European governments and Musk personally.

Spain's plan went beyond simply banning minors; Sanchez announced his country's joining a cross-border alliance called the Coalition of the Digitally Willing—comprising six European countries seeking to coordinate efforts to regulate social media platforms.

So far, the European Commission has always rejected the possibility of imposing a digital age at the EU level because, as established by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), this remains an exclusive national competence.

Bans and Censorship

Spain’s initiative is not isolated from a broader European trend that places the protection of children and adolescents at the heart of its new digital communication legislation.

In late January, the French Parliament gave the initial green light last week to a bill that prohibits access to social networks for children under 15.

If finalized, it is expected to take effect at the start of the next academic year (September 2026).

This move comes after a French parliamentary committee issued a report in September recommending a complete ban on social media for those under 15 and proposing a digital curfew for those under 18.

The committee’s report was released earlier in 2025 after seven French families sued TikTok in 2024, accusing the platform of exposing their children to content that encourages suicide.

Greece, Denmark, and Italy are considering similar measures to prevent those under 15 from accessing online platforms without supervision.

This wave of European legislation is largely inspired by Australia’s recent experience, which became the first country in the world to completely ban access to social media for those under 16, a decision made in December 2025.

Data from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) showed the widespread impact of this decision, with nearly 5 million accounts belonging to teenagers being disabled within a few weeks of the ban taking effect.

Spanish lawmakers are also considering a bill that would prohibit children under 16 from accessing social networks, forums, communication platforms, or any virtual space that integrates generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) without explicit parental consent.

In other cases, the minimum age would be 14 to prevent the risks associated with early exposure to inappropriate content, cyberbullying, or the digital exploitation of personal data.

A recent YouGov poll showed that 79% of Spanish parents support imposing age restrictions similar to the Australian model for social media.

In Germany, at least for now, there are no restrictions on social media for those under 16, but the country is considering banning minors from using social media.

If the German parliament proceeds with a ban, it says it will prevent children from having social media accounts, similar to what Australia has done, allowing them to still access sites without logging in.

Fake Content

Besides protecting minors, concerns about disinformation and hate speech are pushing European governments to tighten regulatory control over platforms.

Europe is moving to hold social media giants accountable for the content published on their platforms, especially after recent years witnessed the exploitation of these platforms to spread fake news that influenced public opinion and fueled social and political tensions across the continent.

A recent example that prompted European action is the scandal involving fake pornography via the Grok chatbot on the X platform.

A wave of public and official outrage erupted last January following reports that this chatbot generated fake pornographic images of real people, including children, without their consent.

The European Commission announced in late January that it had opened an investigation to determine whether X had published illegal content in violation of new EU regulations, following public outrage over the spread of fake sexual images via Grok.

In parallel, the UK's media regulator, Ofcom, launched an investigation under its new powers into X's failure to contain the spread of offensive fake images on its platform.

The UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) launched a formal inquiry into the Grok app's violation of data protection laws and its production of harmful sexual content.

These developments reflect a European philosophy that differs from the traditional US approach to internet regulation.

While social media platforms have enjoyed broad immunity for two decades under the guise of free speech in the US, Europe now believes that the freedom of the digital world must be limited by the law.

Sanchez stated unequivocally that Spain's digital sovereignty is paramount: “We will defend it against any foreign interference.”

Through new legislation—such as the EU Digital Services Act (DSA)—Europeans are seeking to require major platforms to implement transparent procedures for removing illegal content within specified timeframes and to disclose how their algorithms work and rank information.

Digital Confrontation

This escalating confrontation reveals political and geopolitical tensions between Europe on one side and the United States and its tech giants on the other.

France's summons of Elon Musk for questioning was accompanied by media reports confirming that the move could exacerbate the transatlantic dispute over technology regulation and digital freedom of expression.

Musk had previously denounced what he called a politically motivated investigation when the French probe was expanded in July 2025.

In his recent statements, he also characterized the situation as a clash of values, portraying himself as a defender of absolute internet freedom against what he sees as stifling European censorship.

In contrast, European governments maintain that they are acting in defense of the rule of law and the interests of their citizens, rejecting the portrayal of the matter as a battle against freedom of expression.

The current European wave has raised questions about whether it will set a global precedent in curbing social media, especially since other countries have already begun to follow Europe and Australia's lead.

Australia’s experience has shown that technical implementation is not straightforward. Companies like Snapchat have warned of loopholes in age verification systems that could undermine the goals of the ban, not to mention the possibility that young people might turn to unregulated platforms or use encrypted messaging apps to evade censorship.

For his part, lawyer Hassan Al-Aswad explained to Al-Estiklal that “despite these challenges, Europe seems determined to move forward in shaping a new era of strict digital regulation.”

“The success of the planned European alliance in coordinating cross-border content moderation policies, and the insistence of European capitals on enforcing compliance by giant companies with their local laws, could lead to a reshaping of the relationship between societies and these platforms in the long run,” he said.

He concluded by saying: “If this regulatory wave succeeds in reducing the harms caused by social communication without stifling its benefits, it could become a model for other countries seeking to balance the freedom of cyberspace with the security of society.”