GERMAN CHANCELLOR MERZ BACKS MOBILE PHONE BAN IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS

Merz urges focus on education over screen time, but warns social media limits are tougher to enforce.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz voiced strong support for banning mobile phones in primary schools, emphasizing that children should concentrate on learning to read, write, and do math—not playing on phones. He expressed sympathy for countries already enforcing such bans but noted that restricting social media access until age 16 would be much harder to implement. A recent survey showed 85% of German adults favor limiting social media use to those 16 and older.