Von der Leyen Supports Child Social Media Curbs

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen supported introducing a minimum age for children to access social media. Outlining the top-line results of the Special Panel on Child Safety Online report, von der Leyen said it is clear that we need age-appropriate restrictions on platforms and a start date for the age at which children can join social media.

She added that input gathered from parents, educators, experts, and young people, alongside experience from partner countries and EU member states, suggests the need for action at the European level. Von der Leyen said the EC would review the panel’s recommendations, which called for a tiered approach. It suggested that children under 13 years old should only be permitted supervised, time-limited access to age-appropriate social media, with restrictions easing gradually over the teenage years. The approach aims to put the onus on platforms to prove their services are safe by design before children can use them.

The panel’s report cited risks from addictive features, harmful content, inappropriate contacts and excessive screen use, urging platforms to take responsibility by limiting features including infinite scrolling, autoplay, push notifications and personalised recommendation systems that encourage excessive engagement. It also included data showing young people across Europe spend four to six hours a day on screens, with almost 60% of children experiencing emotional or psychosocial problems online. “Parents bring up our kids, and not predatory algorithms,” von der Leyen said, adding that the question was not about whether children can access social media, but about whether and when social media can access children.

She signalled that future rules could extend beyond conventional social media apps, stating that the first thing needing to be considered is the type of platforms that are harmful to children, as evidence pointed to other providers with age-inappropriate and addictive features. “And when we have this clearly defined category, I believe we need to consider phased and gradual access for different age ranges,” she added. The EC noted that any future rules would be supported by age-verification tools designed to protect privacy, alongside stronger enforcement of existing digital safety legislation.