EU plans social media ban for children under 13 across the bloc

Ursula von der Leyen has proposed an EU-wide social media ban for children under 13, with restricted access for older teenagers. The plan would tighten digital safeguards across the bloc and deepen the fight with Big Tech over child safety.

In Short

• Children aged 13 to 15 would get guardian-supervised mini accounts with limits
• Platforms must offer safe design features for users aged 15 to 18
• The proposal needs approval from all 27 EU nations, likely taking years

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday proposed banning children under 13 across the European Union from using social media platforms, while setting limits for older teenagers. The plan is part of a wider global push to protect young people from online harm and would mark the first move to bring in a bloc-wide age limit for social media.

Under the proposal, children aged 13 to 15 would be allowed only "mini accounts" supervised by guardians, with limits on features and the time they can be used. For those aged 15 to 18, platforms would have to provide a "safe design". The proposal still has to be debated and voted on by the EU's 27 member nations, a process that could take years and may also trigger tensions with US President Donald Trump, who has long criticised Europe's tech regulations.

Speaking in Strasbourg in her annual State of the European Union address, von der Leyen said, "I am aware that many perceive the power of Big Tech as overwhelming and impossible to roll back. I disagree." She added, "We do not have to accept addictive features. We do not have to accept children being drawn into ever more extreme content. We do not have to accept that girls have their photos used for AI-generated sexualised images." Further details of the plan are expected on Thursday.

Von der Leyen used the speech to advance a plan she had flagged earlier this year, when she said children should be introduced to social media in a "phased and gradual" way. Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok already bar children under 13 from opening accounts, but authorities have accused the companies of failing to keep them off their services.

Some experts said the commission's proposal does not address the larger issue of social media companies building their businesses around keeping users scrolling through addictive content while showing them advertisements. Simeon de Brouwer, a policy adviser at digital rights group EDRi, said the plan "merely delays young people's exposure to the risks of online harm instead of addressing the business model and extractive practices which fuel it". He added that the platforms will "unavoidably target them as soon as they're a day older than the threshold".

The commission's proposal comes as countries around the world try to tighten online protections for children. European countries such as Spain and Portugal have taken their own steps to ban teenagers from social media platforms, similar to moves in Australia and New Zealand. But some efforts have faced legal hurdles. France's top court last month struck down a law banning children under 15 from social media, saying it infringed on fundamental freedoms, after which President Emmanuel Macron said the proposal would be reworked.

In the United States, Meta Platforms last month agreed to pay up to USD 18 billion and introduce stronger child-safety measures on Facebook and Instagram to resolve a trial over teen social media addiction and settle claims brought by nearly every state.

After von der Leyen's speech, Manfred Weber, who heads the largest group in the European Parliament, proposed that the EU follow Australia in allowing citizens to switch off social media algorithms. "Elon Musk will not like it, but probably that is a reason for doing it," he said.

Von der Leyen also addressed the growing debate over artificial intelligence and the risks it may pose, saying the commission would discuss slowing advanced AI development with leading AI companies. She said the EU would work with "like-minded partners" such as Canada and Britain, adding, "We want to team up on model evaluation, verification, early warning, AI security and much more." Overall, her speech linked the proposed social media curbs for children with the EU's broader effort to tighten safeguards in the digital space.

With PTI Inputs

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