Children’s social media curbs planned across EU, von der Leyen says

By Foo Yun Chee and Bart H. Meijer

BRUSSELS, July 13 (Reuters) – The European Union will move to limit young children’s access to social media across the 27-member bloc, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday, in what would be the biggest such effort to date to guard against online dangers.

Von der Leyen presented a paper from two experts recommending a tiered approach, with under-13s only allowed to use social media for limited periods under the supervision of parents, caregivers and teachers. The curbs would be lifted gradually as teenagers got older.

“It is clear we need age-appropriate restrictions to platforms,” von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels.

“The question is no longer if children face risks online, but what can we do to give children a safer start online,” she said.

Von der Leyen indicated that she was likely to follow the experts’ suggestions and that the Commission would present a concrete proposal after the summer. She is expected to announce it at her state of the union address in September.

Australia, Britain, China, India and the United States have already imposed a social media ban or are considering one, which would mainly target TikTok, Alphabet’s YouTube and Meta’s Instagram and Facebook.

Those companies did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment. Social media platforms have said they have measures to protect younger users and many have already imposed age restrictions.

“We first need to consider the type of platforms that are harmful to our children. The evidence shows that this is mainly social media platforms, but also other providers with age-inappropriate and addictive features. So think of it as social media plus,” von der Leyen said.

“And when we have this clearly defined category, I believe we need to consider phased and gradual access for different age ranges,” she added.

(Editing by Louise Heavens and Andrew Heavens)