Almost half of all 12-year-olds in Europe already have an Instagram account.Image: www.imago-images.de
Endless scrolling and perfidious algorithms: Instagram makes children addicted, an investigation by the EU Commission finds. A ban on social media for minors could come to the table as early as September.
July 11, 2026, 7:21 p.mJuly 11, 2026, 7:21 p.m
Remo Hess, Brussels / ch media
Of course, these are not without controversy. For years, von der Leyen has been pushing for a law in Brussels that would protect children from sexual attacks on the Internet. Data protection advocates accuse it of overshooting the mark and have given it the name Zensursula.
When young people put their smartphones away, one in three people say they feel stressed, sad or socially excluded. 90 percent have seen content that left them disturbed at least once. This was the result of a recently published report Survey of around 26,000 teenagers aged 13 to 18 in all 27 EU countries.
Tied to the screens
On Friday, the EU Commission presented the preliminary results of its own investigation. She states: Instagram and Facebook are not doing enough to protect minors from the addictive risks of their platforms.
The apps, especially Instagram, are designed to entice minors to scroll endlessly and spend longer screen times, especially because of highly personalized content and the automatic play of videos. The brain essentially switches to “autopilot” mode. Even the introduction of so-called “teen accounts” has not changed the risk of addiction. Time management functions are too complicated for parents and can easily be bypassed, say EU officials in Brussels.
Meta can now defend itself against the accusation. On Friday, the US company stated that the EU Commission had not sufficiently valued its protective mechanisms. If a final decision were to be made, under the new EU digital laws there would be a risk of a fine of up to six percent of global group sales, which would correspond to an amount of almost ten billion francs.
The EU Commission already had one in February similar decision against Tiktok pleases. As a result, there is increasing pressure to go one step further and set an EU-wide age limit for social media. This already exists in various countries. Australia has introduced a limit from the age of 16. In the UK, the social media ban will come into force next year.
On Monday, a panel of experts appointed by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will present its investigative report on the subject. The EU leader herself has spoken out in favor of tough measures on several occasions. For the mother of seven and trained doctor, protecting children online is a matter close to her heart. It is expected that she will announce definitive measures in her “State of the Union Address” in September.
Is “Zensursula” overdoing it?
Of course, these are not without controversy. For years, von der Leyen has been pushing for a law in Brussels that would protect children from sexual attacks on the Internet. Data protection advocates accuse it of overshooting the mark and have given it the name Zensursula.
Contact points for victims of sexual violence
Sexual assaults can take place in a wide variety of contexts. Help if you suspect or have experienced sexual violence The cantonal ones, for example, offer this Victim support centers or the Women’s advice on sexual violence. Victim support can also be reached via the national number 142. There is a position in Zurich for young people or adults who were sexually exploited in childhood Castagna. Affected men can refer to this Men’s Office Zurich turn around. If you are sexually attracted to children or know someone who is, you can this place help.
It is also unclear how effective blanket bans on social media are for minors. In Australia, after the first implementation phase, the government had to admit that the ban was being circumvented on a large scale.
There is also the question of exceeding competences: the EU Commission is primarily responsible for the internal market. Can you now also tell parents how their children should use Instagram? In general, educational policy is the responsibility of the Member States.
The responsible EU officials defend themselves with the argument that the internal market is also about protecting consumers from dangerous goods. Especially when it comes to vulnerable people such as children. (schweiztoday.ch)