10 March, 2026. How can children and young people be better protected on the Internet? This question is addressed by a new expert group of the European Commission. Prof. Dr. Matthias Brand from the University of Duisburg-Essen is one of the experts from science and practice invited by the President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. The panel is to develop recommendations for dealing with risks of social media – possible age limits are also up for debate.

As part of the ongoing European discussions on building a safer digital space for young users, our team member Matthias Brand participated in the special panel session on child online safety. The session, hosted by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, focused on strengthening protections for minors online, including examining potential EU‑wide age restrictions, platform responsibility, and improving digital literacy.

The basis of Matthias Brand’s contributions are two joint research projects. In the research group FOR 2974, funded by the German Research Foundation, his team investigates affective and cognitive mechanisms of addiction-like Internet use. In our project, Matthias Brand’s team analyses what consequences problematic internet use can have for the mental health of European youth.

Press release (in German): https://www.uni-due.de/2026-03-11-matthias-brand-expert:innengruppe-eu-kommission

Learn more about the wider European initiatives on child online safety here:
https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/panel-child-safety-online

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