In [an open] letter, 132 children’s rights, digital rights and mental health organisations and experts urged against moves like blanket bans that offload “the burden of safety onto parents or children”.

The signatories, including 5Rights Foundation, an advocacy group for children’s online rights, Amnesty International and Center for Countering Digital Hate among dozens of others, called for a Europe-wide framework for digital safety.

The EU’s approach should focus on the safety of the technology children use – including through enforcement of the bloc’s Digital Services Act – instead of denying minors access to platforms, they argued.

“It must ensure that proportionate age restrictions go hand-in-hand with robust safety measures so that digital environments both protect and empower children, by design and default,” they wrote.