24 March 2026
On Tuesday 24 March 2026, Adrian Ioan Buda spoke in the European Parliament about children’s mental health in a period in which technology and artificial intelligence are shaping daily life at great speed. The 33-year-old Romanian entrepreneur said Europe already has important legal tools, yet children will only be truly protected when those rules have a real effect on their lives.
Who Adrian Ioan Buda is
Buda introduced himself as a Romanian entrepreneur working in technology and artificial intelligence. At AigencySolution, he works with his team on digital products and systems that can influence behaviour, choices, reflexes and even the way people see themselves. Starting from that professional experience, he said he sees every day how fast the sector is moving and how difficult it remains for society to fully understand the consequences in time.
A speech shaped by fatherhood
His intervention also took a personal turn. Buda said he was speaking not only as an entrepreneur, but also as a father. He referred to his seven-month-old daughter, Nectaria, and said that she does not yet know what a mobile phone is, what an algorithm is, or what online validation pressure and constant comparison can do to a child. In his view, that is where the central question begins: what kind of digital world are adults choosing to leave behind for their children.
The gap between innovation and protection
Buda argued that technology is evolving faster than society’s ability to understand its impact. When that gap appears in childhood and adolescence, he said, the issue is no longer only about technological progress, but about responsibility. He warned that many digital products are designed to keep users’ attention for as long as possible. What may be legal and profitable, he said, becomes a serious concern when the users are children, because they do not yet have the same emotional maturity, cognitive capacity and self-regulation as adults.
European rules and political responsibility
In his speech, Buda referred to the Digital Services Act and the AI Act as essential European instruments. He said those measures matter and expressed appreciation that the issue is being treated at European level as serious and urgent. He explicitly addressed European Commissioner Roxana Mînzatu, Vice-President Victor Negrescu, Vice-President Nicolae Ștefănuță, Member of the European Parliament Ștefan Moșoiu, other Members of the European Parliament, and representatives of the European Commission, the Government of Romania, the World Health Organization and other institutions present in the room. At the same time, he said that legislation is not enough if it does not produce visible protection in the lives of children.
Sources:
Speech by Adrian Ioan Buda
European Parliament
AigencySolution
Andy Vermaut +32499357495