EU plans restrictions on social media for under-15s

The European Union has announced plans to restrict social media for children under the age of 15, including a full ban on platforms for those under 13.

The proposed legislation, called the EU Kids Act, would ban those under the age of 13 from accessing social media, and would introduce “mini accounts” for those aged 13 to 15. These mini accounts would be linked to a parent or guardian’s account, and would only be accessible for one hour a day. Only those aged 15 and over would be able to set up their own social media accounts.

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that the new legislation would “put parents back in the driving seat” and give them “the tools to help their children navigate a safer world”.

“Too many children are being exposed too early to an online world they are not ready to navigate - an environment where bullying can follow you home, where every mistake can be recorded forever” she added.

Despite this proposal, von der Leyen said that “an age limit does not mean letting tech companies off the hook for the content on the platform” and that social media companies would be required to submit child safety plans. “For every person under 18, the platforms must follow the principal of safety by design, no toxic or addictive features, no traps, etc,” she said.

Some EU countries, such as France and Spain, have already announced their own plans to ban social media for teenagers. The EU legislation would supersede those laws, but it would be possible for individual nations to go further than the EU-wide directive. The law would also use the EU’s existing age verification app to verify a user’s age.

This comes at the same time as social media platform Snapchat said that they would be “willing to implement” time limits on their app for teenagers. This follows a lawsuit in the United States where social media company Meta has been forced to implement limits and other restrictions on its platforms. Meta has been calling on other companies to also make changes to their platforms. Snap, the parent company for Snapchat, have said that internal conversations about time limits have occurred but have not committed to a timeline for implementation.