Social Media Age Limits: Is the Günther Plan Viable?

by Bastian Pöhls

Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat are officially accessible to ages 13 and up. Daniel Günther had already spoken out in the summer in favor of a social media ban for children and young people under the age of 16, citing possible “significant psychological problems”. He recently repeated his demand. Federal Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger (CDU) also spoke out in favor of age restrictions in an interview with the German Press Agency. A commission of experts is expected to develop proposals for better protection of children and young people by next summer. In Australia, since December 10, 2025, social media is only permitted for ages 16 and over. NDR Schleswig-Holstein wanted to know: What opinion do parents and experts in Schleswig-Holstein have on the topic?

Parents of teenagers we meet in a shopping center in Kiel are usually positive about age restrictions for social media apps such as Instagram or Snapchat. Nadine Stein believes that long periods of cell phone use lead to young people like her daughter having deficits in social behavior. The 15-year-old daughter Isabella also sees this danger with excessive use. However, she rejects a complete ban on young people under the age of 16.

Nadine Stein (right) thinks that spending so much time on her cell phone leads to deficits in social behavior.

Maike Markwort, mother of two daughters, is of the opinion that many young people are not yet aware of the significance of their activities on social media. This could, for example, lead to later problems when looking for a job.

Media lawyer: Rule would have to be made at EU level

Philipp Gabrys is a specialist lawyer for media law in Rendsburg (Rendsburg-Eckernförde district). He says that in his office he regularly deals with the problems of minors on social networks. Big issues are in-app purchases with parents’ credit cards, but also bullying by sharing derogatory images. According to Gabrys, an effective age restriction law must be passed in the European Parliament. The “Digital Services Act” regulation with uniform regulations for digital platforms has been in effect in the EU since 2022.

You would have to get the MEPs on board or approach the EU Commission so that it takes appropriate initiatives. But that is problematic because you would then have to get all EU states together at the table. And finding compromises at this level is always complicated.

Philipp Gabrys, lawyer for media law

Media lawyer Philipp Gabrys considers the implementation of an age restriction to be unlikely.

In addition, the providers of social media platforms are not always based in an EU country. Therefore, sanctioning providers if they violate the rules could be difficult. Instead, Gabrys calls for children to be trained in media literacy from an early age, for example in school lessons by the fourth grade at the latest.

Media competence: The need for advice is already very high in daycare

The Offen Kanal Schleswig-Holstein not only operates television and radio stations in several cities. A large part of the activity also consists of teaching media skills. Manager Henning Fietze says that the demand for parents’ evenings on media topics is very high – at primary schools and also in daycare centers. On these evenings, parents are explained how the major social networks work and which media are suitable for small children.

Henning Fietze, head of the Schleswig-Holstein Open Channel, trains parents of daycare children in media skills.

According to media experts, it is not difficult to ignore the current age restriction of 13 on Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat. Graduate media educator Fietze sees more disadvantages than advantages in a complete ban on social media, because children and young people would grow up in a digital world and a large part would be taken away from them.

The fact that we completely exclude an entire app landscape, a cultural landscape that is important for children and young people, would raise this to the level of smoking and alcohol. Social media is not like alcohol. But there are things on social media that are just as harmful and we have to exclude them.

Henning Fietze, media educator

Digital safe space instead of ban

Henning Fietze believes that an area within social media with exclusively adult content is better protection for children and young people. This could, for example, be an Instagram for teenagers, where certain content (e.g. hatred and hate speech) is filtered out using artificial intelligence. Otherwise, the network offers the same functions such as posting, liking or commenting. This ensures that young users can continue to participate in the digital offerings.

At a young age, parents in particular are required to find out about the content and functions and to discuss the use of smartphones and tablets with their children. The expert advises that parents should block certain apps and services on their devices depending on the age of their children. According to him, providers should be required across the board to install effective age verification systems for the parents of younger children.

Access to social media should only be possible from the age of 16. The CDU Schleswig-Holstein’s move has met with criticism.

Schleswig-Holstein’s Prime Minister is calling for a quick social media ban for children and young people. Australia is a model for this.

In Schleswig-Holstein, the private use of smartphones up to class 9 is prohibited. Some schools go even further.

A parents’ initiative wants to ban access to social media for those under 16 years old. The petition was presented in the Bundestag on Monday and received support.