EU panel recommends under-13 ban until platforms prove safety
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday urged the European Union to adopt phased age-based restrictions on children’s social media use. A special EU panel studying the issue separately recommended that children under 13 be barred from social media entirely unless tech companies can first demonstrate their platforms are safe for that age group.
Von der Leyen, a medical doctor by training, said children under 3 should have no screen exposure at all. Speaking to reporters, she called for “phased and gradual access for different age ranges because childhood won’t wait and once it’s gone, we can never give it back.”
“Just as we don’t give our children keys to the car before they have their license, or we do not let them buy alcohol until they are legally allowed,” von der Leyen said. “We need to set the age at which they can, the children can, legally access social media.”
The push from the EU’s top executive is part of a growing global movement to restrict children’s social media use, with several countries already enacting bans. Australia, the United Kingdom, Turkey, and Indonesia have passed laws barring children under 16 or 15 from using platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.
The EU panel’s recommendation would create a safety-proof requirement: social media companies would have to provide evidence that their platforms do not harm children before minors under 13 could be allowed access. The panel did not detail how such safety certification would work or who would verify it.
Von der Leyen did not specify which age thresholds she would support for legal access, but called on the EU to act, saying childhood “won’t wait.”