EU mulls social media ban for children under 13

July 13 (UPI) — The European Union plans to implement a social media ban on users younger than 13-years-old, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Monday.

The ban would still allow users younger than 13 to use social media with parental supervision. Von der Leyen presented an expert report on the harms of social media use on children that recommended the ban to limit time spent on the platforms.

“It is very clear that we need age-appropriate restrictions to platforms,” von der Leyen said. “This is not about whether children can access social media. It is about whether and when social media can access our children.”

The report, written by child psychiatrist Jorg Fegert and epidemiologist Dr. Maria Melchior, also recommends that social media use be limited to platforms that have certain features such as limits to infinite scrolling. They also recommend that children under the age of 3 have no screen time.

Von der Leyen is expected to announce a law outright banning children and teens from using some social media sites in the coming months. Monday’s report is the first step toward that law.

The European Union is just one body that has considered banning children and teens from accessing social media in recent years. Australia was the first country to implement a ban, barring children under 16-years-old from using social media last year.

Denmark, France, Germany, Spain, India, Indonesia and Malaysia are either considering similar restrictions or have adopted them.

Along with efforts to restrict access to social media, governments and coalitions across the globe have been encouraging major social media companies to change their policies to make their sites safer for children. Among the features they are pushing for are greater control of the data of children, the elimination of features that encourage compulsory use like infinite scrolling and control over age-inappropriate content.