Osnabrück/Berlin, December 4, 2024 – The international children's rights organization Terre des Hommes welcomes the Australian government's initiative to increase protection for children and young people on social media. It is using the 101st Conference of Ministers of Labour and Social Affairs as an opportunity to highlight the urgent need for action regarding digital child and youth protection in Germany.
“One can certainly debate whether it is too restrictive to only allow young people in Australia to use social media from the age of 16,” says Joshua Hofert, spokesperson for the board of Terre des Hommes . “However, we fundamentally welcome the fact that Australia is sending an important signal for the protection of children and young people.”
Terre des Hommes in its recently published child labor report , has highlighted that children in Germany, too, are working in the digital sphere under conditions that are detrimental to their development, health, and education. The increasing involvement of children in the digital channels of commercially operating family influencers is particularly concerning. This represents a multi-billion-dollar industry in which families involve their children in front of often millions of followers to generate revenue. Minors are thus deliberately exploited for commercial purposes, and their private lives are exposed. Such a staged family life jeopardizes the children's personal safety and mental health. It can lead to attachment and developmental disorders.
Hamburg has provided an important impetus and advocated for a reform of the Youth Employment Protection Act to protect children from exploitation in the digital sphere. "In our view, Hamburg's initiative is groundbreaking. On the occasion of today's conference of labor and social affairs ministers in Hamburg, we call on the federal government to initiate a reform of the Youth Employment Protection Act. Germany is lagging behind here – at the expense of children and young people. Clear and verifiable limits are needed for the participation of minors in the channels of family influencers. These limits must be developed together with children and young people," said Joshua Hofert.