The European Union is signaling a stronger push to protect children from harmful and addictive online experiences. Speaking at the European Summit on Artificial Intelligence and Children in Copenhagen on May 12, 2026, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen outlined a policy direction centered on safer platform design, age verification and possible restrictions on social media access for younger users.
The speech does not create a new legal requirement by itself. It does, however, show where the Commission is directing attention after the Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Markets Act (DMA). For businesses that operate online services, build digital products or use algorithmic systems to shape content experiences, the immediate issue is not a newly published compliance checklist. It is the prospect of more scrutiny around how products protect minors by design.
In the European Commission's official speech transcript, von der Leyen argued that society does not have to accept addictive social media designs or children being drawn into extreme content. The emphasis was on changing the conditions that enable harm, rather than treating online safety solely as a question of individual or parental responsibility.
