Social Media Ban in Europe Pushes Companies to Reassess Youth Engagement Strategies

Companies and brands in Europe are preparing to reconsider their marketing strategies as new restrictions on minors' access to social media platforms approach, a step that threatens to change the way companies rely on to reach the younger generation of consumers, according to Fortune magazine.

European brands spend about 35.5 billion euros ($40.4 billion) annually on social media advertising, according to the Digital Advertising Index report by the European Interactive Advertising Association (IAB Europe); making the upcoming restrictions a major challenge for current marketing plans.

France is preparing to become the first European country to apply a ban on social media use for those under 15 years old, starting from the first of next September, while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has pledged to introduce EU-wide restrictions. Ten European countries, including Greece, Sweden, Portugal, and Spain, are also preparing similar measures.

In Britain, the government announced plans to prevent those under 16 from accessing social media platforms starting in July, amid expectations that this will reduce spending on digital advertising by about 1.3 billion pounds ($1.7 billion), according to estimates by analysts at eMarketer.

According to research by GWI, 54% of those aged 12-15 in Britain discover new products they want to buy through social media, while 24% of them watched product unboxing videos or reviews about them during the previous week.

For her part, Rachel Aldighieri, CEO of the British Data and Marketing Association, said that youth-oriented strategies that rely entirely on social media platforms were more exposed to regulatory risks, noting that the association has received increasing questions from companies in the entertainment, gaming, retail, consumer goods, sports, education, and charity sectors about how to deal with the upcoming changes.

Brands that have relied for years on influencers and digital content are seeking new alternatives. Unilever previously announced its commitment to allocating 50% of its digital media budget to social media marketing and content creators, while L'Oréal expanded its reliance on influencer-led content through its brand ambassador network "Beauty Squad". Lego also achieved success in marketing via TikTok and YouTube platforms.

Marcela Melero, Chief Marketing and Growth Officer at Dove, believes that the new restrictions remind companies that platforms are temporary while the audience remains the permanent element, noting that the brand is testing new channels such as Substack and WhatsApp as part of its revised strategy.

For his part, Steven Taylor, head of social media at the creative agency "Dinosaur", pointed out that the social media advertising market may experience a slowdown as the role of artificial intelligence tools in product discovery grows; as consumers have begun using generative AI tools for recommendations instead of traditional search or browsing platforms. According to research by Capgemini, 58% of consumers have replaced traditional search engines with AI tools for product and service recommendations.

These changes come at a time when some social media platforms face additional challenges; as the number of daily users of Snapchat in the European Union decreased by one million users between the last quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026.