This text was published by CEDMO, one of fifteen EDMO Hubs.
In the United States, courts have recently issued rulings that place new responsibility on tech companies for the safety of young users, effectively applying principles strikingly similar to those found in the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA). A court in Los Angeles found Meta and Google negligent for designing platforms in ways that harmed a young user in a landmark case, ordering both companies to pay roughly $6 million in damages. Just days later, a separate court in New Mexico ordered Meta to pay about $375 million in civil penalties for misleading consumers about the safety of its platforms and enabling harm to children. This worldwide concern over protecting minors online, which has driven recent judicial decisions in the United States, is clearly reflected in developments across EU countries as well. Several European governments have openly deliberated or proposed prohibitions on social‑media access for minors, with France advocating restrictions for those under 15, Spain pushing for a minimum age of 16, and Greece and Denmark supporting an EU‑wide rule that would bar minors from accessing platforms without parental consent. Against this backdrop, data from nine European countries reveal a strong consensus.
Against this backdrop, data from nine European countries reveal a strong consensus. The CEDMO Tracking Survey conducted in December 2025 shows that nearly three-quarters (about 73%) of respondents of EU countries covered support legally requiring online platforms to implement privacy‑preserving age verification tools. This level of agreement is unusually high compared to most other questions related to digital regulation, which tend to vary and polarise along political, cultural, or generational lines.