Bundesrat calls for tougher action on dangerous online challenges
Germany's federal states want better protection for minors against incitement to harmful online challenges.
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Germany's Bundesrat called on Friday for tougher action on dangerous challenges on social media. The body representing the federal states wants the federal government to take action against people who deliberately incite minors to seriously harm themselves.
The new step is a political appeal to the federal government. According to German reporting, the Bundesrat adopted a resolution to this effect. This does not mean that a new criminal provision has come into force. The government must decide how to respond to the appeal. That distinction matters: the vote records the wishes of the federal states, but does not in itself change which acts are punishable.
The move was prompted by dangerous so-called challenges: online challenges in which children and young people are encouraged to perform acts that can seriously damage their health. Tagesschau reports that the initiative also targets those who call for such acts. This shifts the focus from the behaviour of young participants to the responsibility of people who deliberately encourage them to engage in dangerous behaviour.
The initiative came from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Lower Saxony. Ahead of the meeting, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's justice minister, Jacqueline Bernhardt, outlined the concerns. According to the explanation reported by Tagesschau, the challenges in question can cause serious and lasting damage to health. The specific ways in which such acts are carried out are not discussed here; those details are not needed to understand the decision.
Deutschlandfunk confirms that the Bundesrat wants a tougher criminal justice response when minors are deliberately incited to harm themselves. NDR also reported on Friday on the call for harsher penalties. This reporting supports the conclusion that discussion of the proposal has now led to a decision. It therefore amounts to more than an announcement of a debate that has yet to take place.
The scope of any legislative amendment has yet to be established. The sources consulted provide no basis for specifying a penalty, a commencement date or a full legal definition. Nor do they indicate that every video featuring a risky challenge would fall under the same future criminal provision. How deliberate incitement should be legally defined remains an important issue for any follow-up.
A distinction must also be drawn between individuals' criminal liability and rules for the platforms on which footage is shared. Friday's confirmed step concerns the call for protection and a tougher criminal justice response. It does not automatically entail a new general ban on young people's access to social media, or an immediately applicable obligation for a specific platform. Such conclusions go beyond the available information.
For Dutch readers, the subject touches on a familiar policy question: who bears responsibility when online encouragement leads to real danger? The German decision does not yet offer a fully developed legislative solution. It does, however, mark a concrete political wish to scrutinise the role of instigators more closely. Whether this results in new legislation, and how it is made workable, will become clear from the federal government's next steps.
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One story, several perspectives
What is established
- The Bundesrat has adopted a call for better protection and a tougher criminal justice response.
- The federal government must decide on the next steps.
- The vote has not in itself introduced a new criminal provision.
Left
Arguments Alongside holding instigators liable, protection requires attention to prevention, support for young people and platforms' responsibility for the spread of dangerous content.
Values Protection of vulnerable people and collective responsibility.
Consequences An approach that relies solely on punishment may do too little to change the circumstances in which young people are influenced.
Centre
Arguments First examine where existing rules fall short and formulate any extension precisely. Targeted enforcement can go hand in hand with prevention and clear agreements with platforms.
Values Proportionality, practicality and legal certainty.
Consequences A precise definition of scope can strengthen protection while preventing uncertainty about which forms of expression are punishable.
Right
Arguments It must be possible to hold those who deliberately incite children to expose themselves to serious danger clearly to account. Parents and carers must also retain the scope and resources to set boundaries.
Values Personal responsibility, authority and protection of children.
Consequences Visible enforcement can clarify standards; overly broad platform bans can also restrict legitimate use.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The Bundesrat's appeal was confirmed by several news sources on 16 October. The article distinguishes the adopted resolution from legislation that has yet to be developed.
- confirmed On 16 October, the Bundesrat called for better protection against dangerous online challenges. — Tagesschau and Deutschlandfunk report on the adopted appeal. source
- confirmed The initiative came from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Lower Saxony. — The preceding reporting names both federal states. source
- confirmed Jacqueline Bernhardt outlined the health risks in her capacity as justice minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. — Tagesschau mentions her role and her warning of serious and lasting harm. source
- confirmed The appeal also targets people who deliberately incite minors to engage in harmful behaviour. — This is explicitly described in reporting on the proposal and the decision. source
- confirmed The resolution is being submitted to the federal government and is not itself a new criminal law. — n-tv describes how the government will decide on the next steps. source
- confirmed NDR reported on Friday on the call for harsher penalties. — The broadcast and title are dated 16 October 2026. source
Editor's note
Several German news sources confirm Friday's decision. The full text of the original resolution could not be consulted within the search budget; no penalties or precise wording of a future offence are therefore specified. Dangerous acts and the minors involved are not described in identifiable terms.Sources
- Bundesrat fordert mehr Schutz von Minderjährigen im Netz — Tagesschau
- Bundesrat berät heute über Mutproben wie Blackout Challenge — Tagesschau
- Länder fordern Schutz für Minderjährige vor gefährlichen Mutproben — Deutschlandfunk
- Bundesrat fordert härtere Strafen für Blackout-Challenges — NDR
- Diese Gesetze bringt der Bundesrat auf den Weg — n-tv
More on this in Dutch media
- RTL Nieuws — „sociale media”
- NOS — „sociale media”
- Het Parool — „sociale media”