The internet has no age limit, but Europe is increasingly considering whether it should.
The latest Liberal Intelligence data shows support for introducing a minimum age of 16 for social media, an idea that is gaining political traction across Europe.
Support is particularly high in some countries. In the Netherlands, 79% agree with the idea, while in Italy support rises to 82%. Elsewhere, the debate is less settled. In Estonia, for example, 32% believe that a blanket age limit is not the answer and that other solutions should be explored.
The idea is to prevent under-16s from accessing social media or at least place stronger restrictions on the platforms they can use.
The results come as governments across Europe consider how to respond to the growing risks young people face online. While the European debate has focused on better enforcement of the Digital Services Act and new age verification tools, more than eight EU member states are now considering national restrictions on social media access for younger teenagers.
According to Eurobarometer, 65% of Europeans aged 15-24 say social media is their main source of information. For a generation increasingly learning about politics and current affairs online, the way these platforms operate is becoming a democratic issue as much as a technological one.
ALDE Party member Fianna Fáil leader and Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin has labelled social media "the public health issue of our time." As AI-generated content and disinformation campaigns target young audiences at scale, and online spaces can expose children to pornography and hate speech.
The rise of the 'manosphere’ has also brought concerns about misogyny and radicalisation to the centre of the debate. Algorithms increasingly shape the content young people are exposed to, adding to wider concerns about the impact on young people's wellbeing.
For some, the answer lies not in banning young people from social media, but in changing the platforms themselves through stronger accountability, better privacy settings and limits on addictive features.
An age limit may delay exposure, but it may not prepare young people for the online world they will eventually enter. That requires digital literacy and education: the ability to spot disinformation, challenge extremism and understand how algorithms shape what we see.
For liberals, the question is therefore whether to regulate social media use or to build a broader toolkit for our young people to safely navigate the digital world. As we move increasingly online, this debate is not going away any time soon.
*Based on representative national surveys from March 2026
