(Image: Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock.com). Australia has implemented it, Germany is debating it: should children be banned from social media? Researchers warn against hasty decisions and doubt enforceability. Two-thirds of people in Germany (66 percent) support introducing a ban on social media for children under 14 years of age. This is the central finding of a representative survey by the Bavarian Research Institute for Digital Transformation (bidt), presented at the media conference re:publica [1] in Berlin. The study sheds light on an increasingly emotionally charged public debate. Ever since Australia implemented a corresponding ban for children under 16 in December 2025 [2], calls for similar restrictions have also become louder in Germany and at the EU level. Yet while citizens’ desire for regulation is immense, the scientific community warned vehemently against hasty measures at re:publica. Ban only for younger children. Survey data shows a nuanced picture [3]: support for a ban heavily depends on the age threshold set. While the ban for under 14-year-olds receives broad support, approval decreases significantly with increasing age. For the age group under 18, the picture reverses completely: more people oppose a ban than support it. However, respondents are uncertain whether a social media ban for children and adolescents can even be implemented. 59 percent of the population simply do not believe that a legal ban can actually prevent use by children. Even among supporters of such a measure, more than half (55 percent) are skeptical about its effectiveness. Contradiction from the scientific community. In Berlin, researchers from bidt, the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS), and the Weizenbaum Institute pointed out that the introduction of the ban in Australia was justified primarily by risks to the mental health of young people. However, the perspectives of young people were hardly considered before the decision. “Blanket social media bans often replace the debate about effective platform regulation,” said Josephine B. Schmitt, research coordinator at CAIS. “They suggest political capability to act, but shift responsibility to young people instead of consistently regulating platforms.” Social media is not just a risk space for young people, but also a place for information, exchange, self-organization, and social participation, said Schmitt. “Bans do not solve many problems; they shift them to less visible spaces.” Holding platforms accountable. Psychologist and business informatics expert Hannes-Vincent Krause called for not falling into “blind activism” in fear-driven discourse. A ban is scientifically neither justified in its necessity nor in its effectiveness. Instead of blanket platform bans, there is a need for clear regulation of problematic content by providers and appropriate digital literacy education. For the study, Statista+ Research, on behalf of bidt, surveyed 2,500 people over 16 years of age online in Germany to capture public attitudes toward a ban on social media for children and adolescents. The results presented are representative for the population of the Federal Republic. Methodology: Statista+ Research conducted a representative online survey on behalf of bidt of people aged 16 and over in Germany to capture public attitudes toward a ban on social media for children and adolescents. A total of 2,500 people were surveyed from April 15 to April 29, 2026. The results presented are additionally weighted to be representative by gender, age, education, and state. (afl [5]). URL of this article: https://www.heise.de/-11297576. Links in this article: https://www.heise.de/thema/re%3Apublica. https://www.heise.de/news/Social-Media-Verbot-in-Australien-tritt-in-Kraft-Jugendliche-verlieren-Accounts-11109147.html. https://www.bidt.digital/social-media-verbot/. https://www.heise.de/newsletter/anmeldung.html?id=ki-update&wt_mc=intern.red.ho.ho_nl_ki.ho.markenbanner.markenbanner. mailto:afl@heise.de. Copyright © 2026 Heise Medien
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