In this brief, prepared for the purpose of the hearing organised by EPP and Renew on DSA Enforcement and the protection of minors, we tried to match the most promising claims made by VLOPs with evidence coming from independent research or civil society investigations.

Significant momentum is building around Europe to step up on online minors protection. In October last year the European Parliament adopted a strong own-initiative report on that matter, urging the European Commission to make “full use of its powers under the Digital Services Act (DSA), including issuing fines or, as a last resort, banning non-compliant sites or applications that endanger minors”. MEPs also proposed an EU-wide digital minimum age of 16 for access to social media, video sharing platforms and AI companions, unless authorised by parents. Two weeks ago the European Commission preliminarily found TikTok in breach of the DSA for its addictive design. According to these findings, TikTok did not adequately assess how its addictive features could harm the physical and mental wellbeing of its users, including minors and vulnerable adults. It is the first case in which the Commission used articles 34 and 35 of the DSA to question fundamental design choices made by the company.