GoKawiilEuropean President Ursula von der Leyen has committed to banning social media for under-13s, following in the footsteps of countries including Australia and the UK.
"The more we learn, and the more we see the impact on our children, the stronger the argument becomes for a social media start date," she said in a statement. "This is not about whether children can access social media," she said. "It is about when social media can access our children."
Von der Leyen's pledge follows the publication on Monday of a report commissioned by her from the Special Panel on Child Safety Online. The report recommended "phased and gradual access" to social media based on age, which von der Leyen said would likely inform upcoming legislation, with a draft law expected this fall.
Many European countries including France, Italy, Greece and Spain are already working on individual social media bans for children, but von der Leyen said that it was clear action was also needed at the European level. Australia, which was the first country to introduce a social media ban for kids six months ago, is currently serving as the testbed for legislation. It's experiencing teething problems, with many children finding ways to bypass age checks and resulting in the government increasing penalties for platforms that fail to keep young people from using their services.
In the EU, a Europe-wide age verification app is due to be available soon that will help the bloc navigate age-gating platforms it doesn't want children to have access to. In April, von der Leyen said the app was technically ready and would be available soon, but the real test of its efficacy will only come when it's deployed.
"This will not be foolproof," said von der Leyen. "Great change never happens overnight, but when it comes to our safety, it is always worth it. And when it comes to social media, the research shows that timing matters."
Europe's approach -- is it unique?
The EU is far from the first to consider legislating on the issue, but unlike the UK, it's not simply copying what Australia has done, said Megan Jenkins, an analyst at Assembly Research.
"What the panel is suggesting isn't a blanket ban, as children under 13 would still be able to access social media, but they would need parental consent to do so," she said. "It looks more similar to restrictions in countries such as Brazil and Portugal, which require accounts held by under-16s to be linked to a parent's account, while also tackling addictive design features such as infinite scroll, autoplay and urgent push notifications."
The EU has never been afraid to face down Big Tech, and already has strong legislation (the Digital Safety Act) that requires tech companies to make their platforms safe by design. Earlier this year, the European Commission demanded TikTok change its "addictive by design" algorithm or face a hefty fine.
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