Von der Leyen pushes to curb addictive social media for children

The Commission’s latest report advocates for a fundamental shift in responsibility, moving the burden of online safety from parents to the platforms themselves. By mandating safety-by-design architecture, the proposal aims to neutralize design elements that encourage compulsive use among minors. The guidelines suggest a total ban on screen exposure for children under three, with heavily restricted and supervised access for those up to age thirteen.

For teenagers, the report proposes a gradual induction into social media environments, provided companies can verify their services are age-appropriate. The Commission argues that traditional parental supervision loses its efficacy once children pass the age of thirteen, necessitating regulatory intervention. Von der Leyen insists that the same safety obligations applied to physical consumer goods must now govern the digital sphere, effectively demanding that Big Tech engineers take accountability for the psychological environment their products create.