Published on 19/06/2026
The UK's plans to ban social media access for teenagers has reignited a debate playing out across Europe, as governments face growing calls from parents to teachers to protect children online.
Countries including France, Spain, Austria and Denmark are all discussing measures to restrict access for children, with concerns ranging from cyberbullying and addictive platform design, to tragedies including suicide and self-harm.
According to a study by WHO-backed Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study, problematic social media use among adolescents increased from 7% in 2018 to 11% in 2022.
It defined problematic social media use using a behavioural scale that measures symptoms such as an inability to cut back, neglecting other activities and experiencing conflicts or negative consequences as a result of spending time online.
According to 15-year-olds surveyed, some of the highest rates of problematic social media use were recorded in Romania, Ireland and Malta.
On the other end of the scale, the Netherlands, Denmark and Estonia recorded some of the lowest levels.
Teenage girls lead the way
Across the countries surveyed, girls reported significantly higher levels of problematic use than boys.
This gap is particularly pronounced in Romania, where 28% of 15-year-old girls reported problematic use, compared with 18% of boys. In Ireland, the figures were 25% and 13% respectively.
Girls were also more likely to report they were in contact with friends online around the clock, with 44% of 15-year-old girls compared to 29% of boys.
According to the report, girls tend to be more socially connected online and may face a different virtual experience than boys.
Various research has found that adolescent girls were found to experience greater pressure over their appearance and body-dissatisfaction on social media than boys, a well as report slightly higher levels of cyberbullying-related experiences.
Support for bans is high, but evidence they work is limited
As governments debate curbing access, political support for restrictions on children's access to apps is at a high.
A YouGov survey published in April found that 79% of people in France supported banning social media for under-16s, alongside 76% in the UK, 74% in Germany and 70% in Italy. Majorities also backed restrictions in Spain (68%) and Poland (53%).
Parents particularly backed bans and restrictions, with 79% of those with children supporting a ban in Britain, Italy and Spain.
Government's are listening to this political push: France's National Assembly has approved legislation restricting access to social media for under-15s, while Spain has proposed raising the minimum age for social media access to 16.
Greece has gone a step further, with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announcing a ban on social media for under-15s in April, with parliament set to vote on the legislation this summer.
Many of the proposals being discussed across Europe require effective age-verification systems and may face legal and practical challenges under EU-wide rules, under which national governments cannot simply force apps such as TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat to block those under-16 overnight.
Yet while support for bans is at a high, evidence that they are effective is very limited —primarily because there are very few long-term case studies that have allowed researchers to effectively assess the impact of bans on children's wellbeing.
W thinks it has the X Factor: Europe’s alternative to mainstream social media
The Swedish-based “W” platform” is the latest in a series of new social media sites vying to replace US Big Tech companies.
The European Commission announced Wednesday that it was joining a new, made-in-Europe alternative social media platform called “W.”
The platform, first announced at the World Economic Forum in January, is built on “verified human users, transparency, privacy and free speech.”
W, based in Sweden, was built by entrepreneurs in media, technology and artificial intelligence, according to the platform’s website. The platform’s beta version launched this week, with users required to apply for vetting by the “W” team before they can post.
Top European officials are using the platform as well, including EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa, president of the European Council.
Before getting access, users have to verify themselves either by sharing their real name or anonymously through W Identity, a separate app that scans the user’s passport or national ID to verify them directly on their device.
CEO Anna Zeiter previously told Euronews that it plans to host its data on “European servers owned by European companies,” and limiting its investors to those based on the continent.
At the time, Zeiter said W plans to use Proton, a Swiss encrypted email provider, and UpCloud, a cloud computing platform based in Finland, in accordance with EU privacy laws.
The launch coincides with a broader tech and artificial intelligence (AI) sovereignty movement in Europe to distance companies, governments and individuals away from Big Tech companies based in the United States.
Several countries, including France, Germany and the Netherlands, have raised concerns that reliance on Big Tech could lead to national security and data concerns.
Other alternative social media sites
W is one of several alternative social media platforms launched recently based in Europe, including Bulle (French for bubble), Eurosky, Monnett and eYou.
Some of these platforms signed a declaration last week committing to build Europe’s “social stack,” which it says will bring a “diverse and resilient infrastructure” to the continent to “move away from large monopolistic platforms with their authoritarian governance.”
However, experts have previously told Euronews Next that it is very difficult for alternative platforms to maintain an audience because it will be hard for them to stay as convenient or engaging as platforms that are trying to maximise time on the site.
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