The European Union will move to limit young children's access to social media across the 27-member bloc, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday, in what would be the biggest such effort to date to guard against online dangers.
Von der Leyen's remarks came as a special EU panel looking into the challenge recommended forbidding access for those under 13 until tech companies can prove their platforms are safe.
Growing awareness of the dangers social media poses for young, developing brains has shown up in a wave of new restrictions globally. Australia, the U.K., Türkiye, Indonesia and others have passed bans on kids under 16 or 15 from using platforms like TikTok, YouTube and Instagram.
Laying out a list of her concerns about the use of social media by kids, von der Leyen, a doctor by training, said that children under 3 should have no exposure to screens at all.
"I believe we need to consider phased and gradual access for different age ranges because childhood won't wait and once it's gone, we can never give it back," von der Leyen told reporters.
