欧盟与多个国家正在推进对未成年人使用社交媒体的年龄限制政策。7月24日，欧盟委员会向TikTok通报初步调查结果，指其未能按《数字服务法》为未成年人提供足够安全的账户环境[1]。法国议会两院通过法案，禁止15岁以下未成年人使用社交媒体，新规计划从9月1日起适用于新注册账户[1]。澳大利亚已于2025年12月10日实施16岁以下社交媒体最低年龄制度，约470万个需要限制的账户被删除或限制登录[1]。
各国政策的实施成效初步显现。澳大利亚3月调查显示，孩子在受限制平台拥有账户的比例从49.7%降至31.3%[1]。与此同时，学界也在进行相关研究。英国《卫报》报道，剑桥大学正进行全球首项系统研究社交媒体年龄门槛问题的试验，预计2027年公布结果[1]。
在年龄标准的科学依据方面，现行的13岁门槛主要源于美国《儿童在线隐私保护法》，并非医学界验证的安全线[1]。欧盟专家组建议在平台证明其服务具有安全设计前，限制13岁以下儿童使用[1]。这表明各方在平台年龄核验和默认安全设置方面仍在探索合理标准。
Multiple countries are implementing stricter age requirements to regulate minors' access to social media platforms, reflecting growing concerns about child safety online. On July 24, the European Commission notified TikTok of preliminary investigation findings, determining that the platform had failed to provide sufficiently secure account environments for minors in compliance with the Digital Services Act [1]. France has become the first EU member state to advance such legislation, with parliament passing a bill that prohibits users under 15 from accessing social media, with the new rules set to apply to newly registered accounts beginning September 1 [1]. Meanwhile, Australia implemented a minimum age requirement of 16 for social media use effective December 10, 2025, resulting in approximately 4.7 million accounts being deleted or restricted from login [1].
The effectiveness of these measures appears to show preliminary results in some jurisdictions. An Australian survey conducted in March revealed that the proportion of children holding accounts on restricted platforms decreased from 49.7 percent to 31.3 percent [1]. The regulatory landscape continues to evolve globally, with Cambridge University undertaking what is reported to be the world's first systematic research trial examining age threshold policies for social media platforms, with findings expected by 2027 [1]. Experts from the European Union have recommended restricting access for children under 13 until platforms can demonstrate that their services incorporate safe design principles [1]. The current widespread adoption of 13 as a minimum age threshold primarily stems from the United States' Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, rather than from validation by the medical community [1].