Renew Europe demands action to protect children from addictive algorithms

At the seminar “Growing up in the algorithm: who’s in control?” hosted in the European Parliament by Veronika Cifrová Ostrihonová MEP, with the participation of First Vice-President of Renew Europe Billy Kelleher MEP and Economic Affairs Coordinator, Stéphanie Yon-Courtin MEP, Renew Europe launched its new position paper on protecting children’s mental health and well-being in the digital age. With Commissioner Michael McGrath, experts, parents and civil society representatives joining the discussion.

Renew Europe calls for urgent European action to address what it described as a “silent public health crisis”; the manipulation of children’s attention and emotions by opaque algorithmic systems.

Veronika Cifrová Ostrihonová MEP said: “Our children are growing up under the influence of algorithms that monetise attention and manipulate emotion. This is a kitchen table issue for millions of families, that cannot be ignored at an EU level. This is no longer a debate about screen time, it is about autonomy, resilience and mental health. Europe has tools, from the Digital Services Act to the AI Act, but not yet the urgency. We need to make phone-free schools the European norm, recognise social media addiction as a public health issue, and demand accountability from the platforms that profit from our children’s vulnerability. The Commission must come forward with the Digital Fairness Act it promised."

Billy Kelleher MEP said: “Behind every statistic are young women and men trying to understand their place in a digital world without distortion or misinformation. Children deserve role models, not algorithms. We cannot allow the next generation to be guided by systems designed to capture their attention rather than nurture their confidence. I hope this liberal and democrat position paper will create real momentum for change. Protecting mental health is not a side issue, it is central to building the kind of Europe that gives its young people dignity, belonging and hope."

Stéphanie Yon-Courtin MEP said: “Europe wrote the digital rulebook with the DSA and DMA, but our children are still left unprotected in the world’s biggest playground, the internet. We need clear rules, strong enforcement, and to work on a European digital age limit to ensure that children engage safely on digital platforms. Addictive design is the junk food of the digital age: harmful, toxic, and everywhere. The future Digital Fairness Act must clean up this ecosystem : it is our opportunity to make the digital world safe for children, not the other way around."

Renew Europe’s new position paper, the first by any parliamentary group, calls on the European Commission to accelerate research into the psychological impact of digital platforms on minors, to fund teacher training and digital education under the next EU budget, and to move forward with the Digital Fairness Act to close regulatory gaps that allow harmful design features to persist. The group reaffirmed its commitment to a digital Europe that empowers citizens, safeguards mental health and defends freedom of thought in an increasingly algorithmic world. “If we fail to act,” Ostrihonová concluded, “our children may grow up connected to everything except themselves.”

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