European Commission President von der Leyen said in Brussels today that the European Commission will submit a proposal after this summer to restrict children's use of social media platforms. Von der Leyen said, “Our kids need to grow up in the real world — time to play, time to make friends, time to make mistakes, and time to shape their own identity and personality rather than let algorithms define them.” According to von der Leyen, the proposal will focus on “setting a minimum age for children to use social media” and strengthen the responsibilities of large technology platforms. Von der Leyen pointed out that social media “is not a toy” and that parents rather than “predatory algorithms” should influence children's development. Should children be completely banned from using all social media? This is a central issue facing the EU in protecting minors from harmful content. To help the EU respond, an expert group composed of doctors, academics, youth representatives and parents submitted relevant recommendations today. After receiving this expert report, von der Leyen said, “The question is not whether children can use social media, but rather whether and when social media can 'reach' our children.” “We need to consider opening access in a phased and gradual manner for different age groups,” she said. Last year, Greece, France, and Spain promoted restrictions on the use of social media by minors, and pressure on the EU to follow Australia's “total ban” in December last year is also increasing day by day. In response, von der Leyen tasked the expert group to provide advice on how the 27 EU countries should jointly address this issue based on scientific evidence. However, the analysis points out that one of the major problems facing the EU is how to prevent the 27 member states from going their own way and setting different age thresholds. Spain, for example, advocates banning access to social networks for people under 16, while France proposes banning the use of social networks by children under 15. Furthermore, countries such as Estonia clearly oppose the imposition of the ban.

European Commission President von der Leyen said in Brussels today that the European Commission will submit a proposal after this summer to restrict children's use of social media platforms. Von der Leyen said, “Our kids need to grow up in the real world — time to play, time to make friends, time to make mistakes, and time to shape their own identity and personality rather than let algorithms define them.” According to von der Leyen, the proposal will focus on “setting a minimum age for children to use social media” and strengthen the responsibilities of large technology platforms. Von der Leyen pointed out that social media “is not a toy” and that parents rather than “predatory algorithms” should influence children's development. Should children be completely banned from using all social media? This is a central issue facing the EU in protecting minors from harmful content. To help the EU respond, an expert group composed of doctors, academics, youth representatives and parents submitted relevant suggestions today. After receiving this expert report, von der Leyen said, “The question is not whether children can use social media, but rather whether and when social media can 'reach' our children.” “We need to consider opening access in a phased and gradual manner for different age groups,” she said. Last year, Greece, France, and Spain promoted restrictions on the use of social media by minors, and pressure on the EU to follow Australia's “total ban” in December last year is also increasing day by day. In response, von der Leyen tasked the expert group to provide advice on how the 27 EU countries should jointly address this issue based on scientific evidence. However, the analysis points out that one of the major problems facing the EU is how to prevent the 27 member states from going their own way and setting different age thresholds. Spain, for example, advocates banning access to social networks for people under 16, while France proposes banning the use of social networks by children under 15. Furthermore, countries such as Estonia clearly oppose the imposition of the ban.