Scientists against EU-wide social media restrictions
A number of researchers do not agree with the EU Commission about the need for EU-wide restriction of kids’ access to social media. The Commission’s president Ursula von der Leyen in her State of the Union speech announced an EU Kids Act meaning no social media under the age of 13 and no personal account under the age of 15 across all of the union.
At the same time, researchers in a blog article published by London School of Economics argue that Europe should “retain faith in its hard-fought regulatory framework for safer, more rights-respecting digital environments, rather than defaulting to access restrictions.”
Von der Leyen said that platforms will have to prove to us that they are safe. “Because it is not about our minors accessing social media. It is about when and how do we allow social media to access minors.”
“Europe has the power to act. It is we who decide our rules, not big tech.”
One of the researchers, professor Elisabeth Staksrud from the University of Oslo, says that large differences between countries are a reminder that “there is no single European digital childhood – and therefore unlikely to be one simple policy solution that fits all children and all contexts.”
“Our comparative research shows us both what children share and where national contexts make a real difference.
“One of the clearest findings is how much children’s digital lives differ between countries. European averages can hide substantial national variation in opportunities, skills, risks and everyday practices.”
“Comparative research allows us to see which patterns are widespread and which are strongly shaped by national context. Without that comparison, it is easy to mistake a country-specific experience for a universal one.”
Children across Europe are embracing digital technology but are concerned about the risks that come with it, including online hate, privacy invasions and what future technology could mean for the planet and human autonomy. These are some of the key findings in the research report from EU Kids Online.
While several patterns have emerged across Europe, the report also highlights disparities in children’s digital experiences across countries. The researchers argue that these variations underline the fact there is no single ‘European digital childhood’ and that policymakers should avoid one-size-fits-all solutions when designing online safety measures.
Drawing on a survey of 28,465 children aged 10 to 16 across Europe, the researchers from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), the University of Oslo, the University of Ljubljana, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore and the University of Akureyri in Iceland find that smartphones are now central to young people’s daily lives with children’s digital experiences evolving faster than policy can keep pace.
For the report, EU Kids Online, a multinational research network, founded at the LSE and now co-ordinated by the University of Oslo, surveyed children in 19 European countries (Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Czechia, Estonia, Spain, Finland, Croatia, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia) about their online activities and experiences.
The report says that AI is quickly becoming an integral part of children’s everyday lives. Across Europe, around two-thirds of children report using AI tools at least once in the past month, with many seeing them as valuable for learning, innovation and efficiency. For example, 37 per cent of the children surveyed hope AI will boost human creativity.
In addition, a third say they are confident new technologies will free students and workers from spending time on boring activities.
However, others are concerned about the future of AI. Specifically, four in ten children surveyed expressed concern that AI-based technologies damage the environment and consume too much natural resources (41%) and that AI may surpass human intelligence in a way that makes it impossible for humans to maintain control over it (40%).
Worries about the environmental impact of AI range from 57% in Ireland to 31% in Finland and Switzerland.
The preoccupation that AI might surpass human intelligence and evade our control is highest in Ireland (55%) while lowest in Belgium (28%).
30% of children are encountering hateful messages at least every month. However, this exposure does vary quite significantly across countries – with at least monthly exposure ranging from 15% in Ireland to 40% in Serbia.
Girls report greater exposure than boys overall with 60% of girls and 55% of boys having encountered hateful messages across the countries.
Children also report encountering a range of potentially harmful online content. Across the 19 countries, gory or violent images are the most commonly reported category (40%), followed by content about ways to be very thin (39%) and ways of physically harming or hurting oneself (37%). Content about suicide is the least commonly reported of the categories analysed (25%).
Looking specifically at content about ways of physically harming or hurting oneself, 15% of children report seeing such content at least every month and a further 24% have seen it a few times. At least monthly exposure ranges from 6% in Ireland to 24% in Belgium and the Czech Republic.
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