The European Commission plans to prohibit social media use by children under 13 and restrict personal accounts for those under 15, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced in her State of the Union address in Strasbourg on Wednesday.
Children aged 13 and 14 would instead use accounts created and supervised by parents or guardians, with restricted functions and daily time limits.
Under the plan, platforms would also face specific safety requirements for users aged 15 to 17. Ursula von der Leyen said companies would carry greater responsibility for proving that their services protect children from harmful content and features designed to keep users online.
“Young Europeans now spend four to six hours a day on screens,” von der Leyen told the European Parliament. She said children were being drawn into feeds designed to prolong their use.
The Commission plans to set out the measures through a proposed Kids Act. The announcement follows work by a Commission-appointed panel on child safety, which delivered recommendations in July on age-based access to social media and other online services.
The rules form part of a wider push by Brussels to increase oversight of digital platforms. Von der Leyen also said the EU would take a tougher approach to addictive features and place responsibility on platforms to demonstrate that their products are safe for minors.
Finland has already moved towards tighter limits on children’s digital use. National guidelines published in January recommend no personal smartphones or social media for children under 13. The Finnish government is also preparing a report on restricting social media use for children under 15.
Canada offered path to EU associate membership
Von der Leyen proposed a new European Security Council bringing together EU leaders and partners including Britain, Canada, Norway and Ukraine. She also called for an emergency security mechanism modelled on NATO’s Article 4 to coordinate responses to cyberattacks, sabotage, drone incidents and other security threats below the threshold of armed conflict.
Von der Leyen also invited Canada to work with Brussels towards becoming the EU’s first “associate member”. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney attended the address in Strasbourg. The proposal would deepen cooperation without making Canada a full member of the bloc.
Von der Leyen calls for 'AI with human agency'
On artificial intelligence, von der Leyen said Europe should expand computing capacity while applying AI to sectors including healthcare, manufacturing, agriculture, transport and defence. She said the Commission plans talks with developers of advanced AI systems on safety and the pace of development.
Finland also featured in the speech. Von der Leyen mentioned Finnish entrepreneur Pekka Laurila and Polish entrepreneur Rafał Modrzewski, founders of satellite imaging company ICEYE, as an example of a European technology business. The pair, who met through the Erasmus programme, received applause from members of the European Parliament.
The Commission president also addressed Ukraine, migration, climate adaptation, trade with China and relations with Israel during the annual speech, which sets out the Commission’s priorities for the coming year. The European Parliament describes the State of the Union address as a forum for reviewing the previous year and presenting the Commission’s policy programme.
HT
