Source: in-cyprus.philenews.com
President Nikos Christodoulides has co-signed a letter with five other European leaders to the European Commission president, calling for the establishment of a European “digital age of adulthood” for minors’ access to social media.
The initiative aims to establish unified European rules for minimum access age, strengthening children’s protection from internet dangers such as cyberbullying, exposure to harmful content and addictive algorithms.
Christodoulides joined the president of France and the prime ministers of Greece, Spain, Slovenia and Denmark in the letter expressing “our common will to proceed with establishing a European ‘digital age of adulthood’ for access to social media“.
The president said the initiative aims to establish “unified European principles for the minimum age of access for minors, with the purpose of better protecting our children on the internet”.
Initiative aims to protect children from cyberbullying and harmful content
“We must act decisively, both at national and European levels, to protect our children from the challenges of the digital world, from cyberbullying and exposure to harmful content, to addictive algorithms and the misuse of technology,” Christodoulides said.
He described protecting children’s mental health and wellbeing as a duty rather than a choice. “Europe bears responsibility towards the next generations to ensure a safe, reliable and humane digital environment,” he said.
The initiative is directly linked to the European Commission’s guidelines for the protection of minors and to the pilot phase of the European age verification tool, in which Cyprus participates alongside other member states.
Christodoulides called it “an important step towards creating a safe, transparent and user-friendly digital identification system that will protect the privacy and security of every child, every minor”.
Cyprus participates in EU age verification pilot programme
Cyprus participates actively in this collective European effort, strengthening Europe’s voice in favour of protecting minors and ethical accountability in the digital space, Christodoulides said.
As the incoming presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2026, Cyprus will highlight the safe digital transition of children as a horizontal policy priority, promoting the responsible use of artificial intelligence and regulating minors’ access to social media through safe, interoperable age verification solutions.
“Cyprus aspires to contribute substantially to building a Europe that places people at the centre and primarily the child, combining innovation with security and technological progress with social responsibility,” the president said.
“Because nothing is more important than the wellbeing, safety and mental health of our children,” he concluded.
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