Support for an under-16s social media ban is high across major voting groups in six European countries (2026)

This chart illustrates levels of public support for banning under-16s from social media across six European countries, disaggregated by political affiliation. The data reveal a striking 'cross-partisan consensus' in most Member States, where support for the measure remains high regardless of ideological leaning. A notable trend is the absence of partisan friction in Britain, France and Germany. In Britain and Germany, mainstream parties from opposite ends of the political spectrum, such as Labour and the Conservatives or the SPD and the CDU/CSU, show identical levels of support. This suggests that, in the regulatory core of Europe, digital protection for minors has transcended traditional party politics to become a universal policy goal. However, a secondary ideological gradient is visible in Spain and Poland, where a clear left–right divide emerges. In Spain, the left is leading the way, with SUMAR (89%) and PSOE (81%) showing significantly higher levels of support than the right-wing PP (63%) and far right VOX (55%). A similar pattern exists in Poland, where the centrist Civic Coalition (59%) leads, while Law and Justice (47%), the right-wing party, is the only major voting group in the dataset to fall below a majority. Italy provides a notable exception to this trend: unlike in Spain, the far right Brothers of Italy (76%) exceed the centre-left Democratic Party (69%). This suggests that, in certain national contexts, the ban is perceived as a means of traditional family protection, which has a stronger appeal to conservative voters. Overall, the general trend indicates that, while the populist and far right (AfD, VOX and Law and Justice) consistently shows the highest levels of scepticism, the social media ban remains a rare politically safe issue with majority backing across nearly the entire European political spectrum.