– Kike Rincón – Europa Press – Archive
PSC Euro MP Laura Ballarín has stated that she is «optimistic» and trusts that the European Commission (EC) will legislate on the protection of minors on platforms and social networks despite pressure from US President Donald Trump.
In a meeting with journalists in Barcelona this Wednesday, she explained that from the EU, «no message has been sent» either directly or indirectly indicating that there will be a step back in the regulation of platforms or in the ongoing investigations against several of them.
Ballarín, who is the rapporteur for the opinion report on the impact of social networks and the digital environment on youth of the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee (IMCO) of the European Parliament, explained that Trump warned in August, after the trade agreement with the EU, that there could be more tariffs if there was more legislation to regulate platforms.
She detailed that this opinion report, which is not binding, will be voted on in the plenary of the European Parliament in the first semester of 2026, and aims to urge the EC to implement current laws to protect minors in digital environments and influence future Commission regulations in this regard.
The socialist Euro MP celebrated that «there is a fairly large consensus» within the European Parliament to regulate in this sense and protect minors, and highlighted that the EC is already implementing pilot projects in Spain, France, Italy, Greece, and Denmark on effective age verification for access to these platforms.