On October 14, the German Federal Government adopted the key points for child and youth media protection presented by the Federal Minister for Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, Karin Prien. Following the completion of the expert commission's work, this marks the beginning of the concrete implementation of initial measures. The commission's 56 recommendations for action form a central basis for this.
Federal Minister for Family Affairs Karin Prien: “The analysis is complete, now it’s time for implementation: With the key points for child and youth protection in the digital world, we as the Federal Government are creating the foundation so that children and young people can grow up safely and independently in the digital world. Protection, empowerment, and participation – that is our mission. The internet has long been a part of everyday life, especially for young people – therefore, we don’t want to exclude them from the digital world, but rather make them resilient and resilient. No more cyberbullying, just like no more incessant scrolling! We are consistently holding platform operators accountable and strengthening parents – they are the ones raising their children; we won’t leave that to the algorithms of corporations.”
To fundamentally strengthen and further develop child and youth protection in the digital world, the German Federal Government established an independent expert commission on "Child and Youth Protection in the Digital World." The commission concluded its work on September 11, 2026, with the submission of its final report.
The German Federal Government pursues a three-pronged approach of protection, empowerment, and participation. Children and young people should be protected from harm, while simultaneously being empowered to use digital services competently and independently, and to participate in the digital world. With these key points, the Federal Government outlines the initial measures it intends to implement based on this principle.
Clear rules for platforms and social networks
One focus is on European regulation. In the negotiations on the EU KIDS Act, which the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs is leading for Germany, the Federal Government will advocate for children under 13 to have no access to social networks and for the consistent implementation of the "Safety by Design" principle.
This includes preventing addictive designs from the outset of digital application development. Algorithmic recommendation systems should be deactivated by default. The goal is to limit risks early on and prevent harmful services from even reaching the market. At the same time, parents should be relieved of the burden of having to comprehensively secure their children's devices themselves.
The European Commission's proposal for the EU KIDS Act includes not only requirements for social networks but also tiered regulations for online games, app stores, operating systems and AI companions.
National transitional arrangement for social networks
As long as no minimum age for using social networks is set at the European level, the German government intends to create a national transitional regulation. This regulation would generally prohibit children under 13 from using social networks. Exceptions would be made for demonstrably age-appropriate content. For young people between 13 and 18 years of age, graduated usage restrictions are planned.
Strengthen age verification
Reliable age verification is a crucial prerequisite for effective child and youth protection. Therefore, starting in 2027, the German Federal Government will provide a reliable method for age verification for digital services with the German implementation of the EUDI wallet "d-you".
Anchoring the digital world in child and youth welfare
Child and youth welfare services are to be more strongly aligned with the digital lives of young people. This is to be clarified in the Eighth Book of the Social Code (SGB VIII). The focus is on the preventive promotion of media literacy, which is to be anchored in educational child and youth protection, youth work, youth and school social work, and family education, among other things.
Strengthening parents – the responsibility of the platforms remains
Platform operators are primarily responsible for a safe digital environment. In addition, parents should guide their children's media use according to their age and maturity. They are responsible for shaping their children's media education, always prioritizing the child's well-being. A nationwide information and awareness campaign aims to inform parents about the dangers of digital media and point them to available support services. This campaign does not shift the responsibility of online platforms to parents. Rather, it aims to hold providers more accountable.
Strengthening media literacy and AI competence from the outset
Children and young people should be empowered to use digital services responsibly. Therefore, the German Federal Government aims to strengthen the media literacy of children, young people, parents, and professionals. This includes the use of artificial intelligence (AI). Children and young people should be able to recognize AI applications, critically assess their opportunities and risks, and use and shape them competently.
With the "AI Seahorse" initiative, the German Federal Government aims to quickly launch an age-appropriate program for teaching basic AI skills to primary school children and promote its nationwide standardized distribution. At the same time, the Federal Government is committed to expanding and further developing child-friendly online resources. These should provide children with age-appropriate media experiences.
Recognize health consequences earlier
The German government intends to make greater use of preventative healthcare programs to inform parents early on about the consequences of excessive media use. This will also include better identification of health risks and targeted advice for parents.
In August 2026, the Federal Ministry of Health published a funding guideline on the health effects of screen media on children aged zero to six. Also in August, the Federal Joint Committee decided to introduce a new early detection examination for children aged nine to ten and to document the J1 youth health examination in the Yellow Booklet.
Children's online watch and more protection against digital violence
The federal government intends to advocate to the states for the establishment of a children's online helpline. Designed to be child-friendly, similar to existing state-run online helplines, it will offer easy access. Schools and educational institutions will be required to inform the public about the service. Supplementary educational counseling services will also be accessible through the central children's online helpline.
Shared responsibility
The German Federal Government explicitly recognizes child and youth media protection as a shared responsibility. The EU, the federal government, the states and municipalities, platforms and providers, schools and youth services, the healthcare system, academia, parents, and young people form a community of shared responsibility. The Federal Ministry for Family Affairs will initiate structured exchanges with the states and the relevant ministerial conferences. Furthermore, it will coordinate the implementation of measures across federal departments within the scope of federal responsibilities.
These key points represent the first step towards a comprehensive reorganization of child and youth protection in the digital world. The Federal Government will examine further recommendations from the expert commission and gradually implement them in additional measures.
The policy paper can also be found here: https://www.bmbfsfj.bund.de/eckpunkte-kinder-und-jugendmedienschutz
Source: Federal Government adopts key points for better media protection for children and young people – BMBFSFJ, 14 October 2026