The EU is preparing to ban social media for children under 13. Platforms will have to prove they are safe

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Wednesday a plan for EU-wide rules to restrict children’s access to social media. The Commission wants to introduce age limits graduated according to the child’s age and shift the burden of proof to platform operators.

What exactly will the social media ban bring?

Von der Leyen presented the plan during her State of the Union address in Strasbourg. It envisages that social media would remain completely banned for children under 13. Between 13 and 15 years old, adolescents would only be allowed to use so-called “mini accounts” set up and managed by parents, with limited functions and a daily time limit of one hour. A personal unsupervised account would thus only be created at 15 years old at the earliest; for users between 15 and 18 years old, platforms would be obliged to implement a so-called safe design.

“It’s not about whether our children have access to social media. It’s about when and how we allow social media access to them,” von der Leyen said, according to France 24, which cited AFP. She added that the Commission is approaching the restrictions gradually, with a different level of protection for each age group.

Platforms will have to prove they are safe

The formal proposal, called the Kids Act, was to be presented by the Commission on Thursday; it was to be introduced by Commissioner for Technology Henna Virkkunen alongside von der Leyen. A key change is the reversal of the burden of proof – social media operators would have to prove themselves that their services are safe for minors. According to the proposal, which AFP saw, the rules would also apply to online games and so-called AI chatbots, and would prohibit addictive elements for children, such as infinite content scrolling. Violations could result in fines of up to six percent of annual turnover.

Efforts to restrict children’s access to social media are growing worldwide. Australia was the first country to ban social media for children under 16 last December, and other countries have followed suit. Some EU member states have also introduced their own restrictions; France, Denmark, and Greece, among others, have called on the Commission for a Europe-wide approach.

When could the rules come into effect?

The proposal will only become law after negotiations between member states and the European Parliament, which could take months. Furthermore, objections are being raised against the planned rules. The European consumer organization BEUC warns that age verification is not a panacea and raises serious questions about privacy and data protection – while the EU is simultaneously preparing its own age verification application.

Do you agree with the ban on social media for children under 13?

Sources: CNN, France24