The European Union may be restricting the use of social media for children as soon as this summer, with an expert panel set to make recommendations on July 13. Some countries, such as Denmark and Greece, are requesting more stringent guidelines, while EU officials indicate that all measures are being considered, ranging from age limits to restrictions on certain platform features.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has endorsed tougher measures, but nothing has been finalised yet. An official announcement should be made in September. “The issue isn’t when children will have access to social media, it’s when social media will have access to our children,” von der Leyen said last week.
Brussels is increasingly being subjected to pressure from several member states wanting their own legislation. The Commission on Monday requested that France tweak its proposed law, pointing out that it conflicts with EU powers. However, the scope of the focus is not only social media, but also the digital environment, including business models and platform design, Consumer Protection Commissioner Michael McGrath added.
Focus on harmful features
The expert panel is not likely to call for a blanket ban. Instead, the EU could take a risk-based approach that would remove features from Instagram and Snapchat, and TikTok deemed harmful to minors, but leave the platforms themselves alone.
The Commission is taking a close look at the new social media ban recently implemented in Australia, and is following the decision-making process of its member states on similar bans, including Greece and Spain. But there is opposition to sweeping bans, especially in Estonia.
There is increasing public pressure for tougher laws. In a recent poll from YouGov, the majority of the French, German, Italian, Polish and Spanish users are calling for platforms to remove addictive design elements. Furthermore, 75% of respondents agree that platforms should be unavailable to minors until companies can demonstrate that they are safe.
Digital rights groups are against bans, saying that the EU should implement the current laws.
“We don’t believe that exclusion is a solution,” said Simeon de Brouwer, European Digital Rights (EDRi).
Later in this year, new laws will be in place that will make children “vulnerable consumers” and mandate platforms to be designed to ensure the protection of minors. The EU is also studying whether Facebook and Instagram from Meta can add to addictive behaviour among kids; it’ll be known before the end of the summer.
