During a hearing organized by the European Parliament’s IMCO Committee, Meta found itself alone facing MEPs who were convinced that platforms do not sufficiently protect minors. This hearing was revealing of a debate in which calls for new restrictions are multiplying, while the evidence supporting their necessity often remains tenuous. With just a few days to go before the publication of the recommendations from the expert group commissioned by the European Commission on the protection of minors online—expected on July 13—the European Parliament’s Internal Market Committee (IMCO) held a public hearing on one of the most sensitive issues in the European digital landscape. The hearing followed on the heels of the own-initiative report adopted by the Parliament last November, which had already called for a massive strengthening of online protection for minors and the introduction of a harmonized minimum age for access to social media. It also comes as the Commission prepares its future “Digital Fairness Act,” which could, in particular, strengthen regulations…
