The European Commission is advancing legislation that would prohibit social media access for children under 13 years old, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced. The proposed framework would allow children aged 13 to 15 to use restricted accounts under parental oversight with enforced time limitations on app usage. Von der Leyen stated that social media platforms were negatively impacting childhood development and that technology companies must demonstrate their products are safe for young users.
The commission plans to release its comprehensive social media strategy on Thursday following von der Leyen’s address to the European parliament in Strasbourg. The proposal requires approval from both the European parliament and all 27 EU member states before becoming law. Additionally, the commission intends to submit its Digital Fairness Act to parliament this year, which will address design features intended to increase user dependency on platforms.
Von der Leyen’s announcement came as part of her annual state of the union address, which covered multiple policy areas including climate response and migration management. She referenced recent events in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in August as context for planned emergency response mechanisms regarding sudden migrant arrivals. The speech also addressed broader geopolitical concerns, including proposed security frameworks involving Canada, Norway, Ukraine and the UK, and ongoing diplomatic challenges regarding trade restrictions related to Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
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