perspective
AgeGate Tracker
Tracking national laws restricting minors’ access to social media platforms
Authors
Published by
Interface
May 19, 2026
In an attempt to counter the negative effects that the use of social media can have on children and based on legitimate concerns about how minors can be protected in the digital world, policy makers worldwide have been actively putting legislative proposals forward to forbid or restrict minors’ access to these online services. This tracker aims to list and categorise as many of these initiatives as possible, including their current status of implementation, the age threshold and the type of age verification that is foreseen and their legal basis. Designed as a resource for policymakers, experts and researchers working in the field, it aims to be simple to navigate yet detailed enough to provide a comprehensive overview of national approaches to restricting access to social media platforms. Initially focused on the European Union (EU), future iterations will include data on other parts of the world. As this is a continuous work in progress that will be updated on a monthly basis, we invite you to write to us at digitalpublic@interface-eu.org should you spot any inaccuracies or items that require updating.
To complement this table format database, see our brief ‘Social Media Age Gating in the EU: Perspectives on Member States laws restricting minors’ access to social media’, which includes country-specific developments (e.g. France, Germany), a timeline of online child protection policy initiatives in the EU since 2024 and an interactive EU map that offers a quick glance at national-level initiatives, their advancement status and other key variables.
The below table was last updated on:
11/05/2026
Authors
Jessica Galissaire
Senior Policy Researcher Digital Public Sphere
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