Ricarda Lang, a Green Party politician, has said she is now open to banning social‑media use for children under 14, a significant shift from her earlier opposition. When first faced with the suggestion, she answered firmly “no” arguing that the focus should be on boosting media literacy and better enforcement of existing online laws.
Since then, she has reflected that society’s preparedness is, in her view, inadequate. “I have to admit that I feel we are so poorly prepared that I have started to wonder whether children under 14 should even be allowed to use these platforms” she told “Der Spiegel”. “Do we recover fast enough? That is why I am now open to the idea of a ban”.
Lang stresses that discussing bans itself signals a failure: “When we talk about prohibitions, it is a badge of poverty that we have not managed to regulate social media so that it works effectively”. She criticises platforms for “making us more nervous, more divided, and sometimes even dumber than we actually are”.
She urges the European Union to step up and hold technology giants accountable for their algorithms. “We need to reward real interests rather than lower instincts” she says, calling on the EU to compel tech companies to modify their systems.
In her remarks, Lang also draws from her own experience with online hate. “I constantly receive hateful comments from older people who have little media literacy yet are still allowed to participate” she said. She criticises a debate that focuses only on protecting young people online while ignoring the fact that much problematic content is produced by adults.