Estonia has joined a small group of EU members refusing to outlaw social media for minors. Education Minister Kristina Kallas told a Politico forum in Barcelona that blanket bans “won’t actually solve problems” and that children will simply find workarounds. While studies link platform use to depression, anxiety, sleep loss and obesity, the minister argues the issue lies elsewhere in policy.

Countries such as Australia, Greece, France, Austria, Spain, Indonesia, Malaysia, the United Kingdom and Denmark have already floated or enacted age‑based restrictions, typically ranging from 14 to 16. Proponents claim bans protect youngsters from targeted advertising and addictive design, yet for the enforcement would require monitoring tools that threaten broader internet freedoms, a concern Kallas echoed when she called EU pretence about regulating big‑American tech.

By shifting blame from platforms to users, Estonia hopes to pressure EU regulators into stronger oversight of algorithmic curation and data harvesting rather than imposing outright prohibitions. If successful, the approach could set a precedent for other nations wary of civil‑rights backsliding while still addressing the documented mental‑health risks tied to youth social‑media consumption today.