EU Commission proposes under-13s social media ban

On Thursday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled a comprehensive plan to safeguard children from online hazards, including a ban on under-13s using social media platforms. Her plan also requires online services to design child-friendly accounts. This initiative follows similar measures in Australia, Britain, China, India, Turkey, and multiple EU nations, reflecting growing concerns about the detrimental effects of widely-used platforms like Meta's Facebook and Instagram, TikTok, Google's YouTube, and ChatGPT on children's mental health and well-being.

Von der Leyen highlighted the challenges Australia faces in enforcing its pioneering social media ban for children under 16, suggesting that Europe may encounter similar obstacles. Speaking at a press conference, she emphasized that today's children engage with some of the most advanced technology ever developed, which was not designed with their welfare and growth in mind.

The proposed EU Kids Act aims to establish clear digital boundaries, akin to those in the physical world. According to the plan, which must be negotiated with EU countries and the European Parliament in the coming months, children aged 13 to 15 will have accounts subject to parental oversight. Social media and video-sharing services, online video games, AI companions, and chatbots for children under 18 will be governed by a set of rules.

These include bans on addictive features, algorithmically-generated recommendation feeds, infinite scrolling, reward mechanisms, and unsolicited contact from strangers. Notably, AI companions and chatbots must be deactivated by default. Online platforms will also be mandated to create algorithms that are safe for children and provide straightforward parental controls and tools to block and mute users.