The European Union will propose limits on children’s access to social media, Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday, hours after an expert panel she convened delivered its recommendations on how the bloc should shield minors from harmful content.
She has been building towards this since May, when she first told MEPs a legal proposal would arrive over the summer.
The panel, made up of doctors, academics, youth representatives, and parents, met three times this year, most recently in June. Its members stayed conspicuously quiet in the weeks before Monday’s handover, and two European officials said they expect Brussels to unveil a proposal on an age limit, while cautioning that nothing has been settled.
What the Commission would not say is whether von der Leyen intends to go as far as a blanket ban. “We are exploring possibilities to make minors safer online,” a spokesperson said. “More can and must be done.”
The pressure has been building for a year. Greece, France, and Spain led the push in 2025 for restrictions on minors’ access, and Australia’s ban on under-16s, in force since December, gave the campaign a working precedent to point at.
