European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced Wednesday that the EU will move to ban social media for children under 13. She delivered the plan during her State of the Union address in Strasbourg. No personal accounts would be allowed under the age of 15. Kids aged 13 and 14 could use supervised “mini accounts” set up by parents or guardians. Those accounts would have limited features and a hard one-hour daily cap. The Commission plans to formally propose a new Kids Act on Thursday. Under the rules, platforms would have to prove their services are safe for minors rather than the other way around. The move follows similar steps by individual EU countries and Australia’s under-16 ban. The full law could still take years to pass because member states must approve it.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced Wednesday that the EU will move to ban social media for children under 13. She delivered the plan during her State of the Union address in Strasbourg. No personal accounts would be allowed under the age of 15. Kids aged 13 and 14 could use supervised “mini accounts” set up by parents or guardians. Those accounts would have limited features and a hard one-hour daily cap. The Commission plans to formally propose a new Kids Act on Thursday. Under the rules, platforms would have to prove their services are safe for minors rather than the other way around. The move follows similar steps by individual EU countries and Australia’s under-16 ban. The full law could still take years to pass because member states must approve it.