The European Commission is preparing new measures to limit the exposure of minors to what it calls the “addictive designs” of social platforms such as TikTok, Meta and X.
The president of the European executive, Ursula von der Leyen, said in Copenhagen that the institution is also analyzing the introduction of a mandatory minimum age for teenagers’ access to social networks, according to Reuters.
Ursula von der Leyen drew attention to the fact that the harmful effects on young people are increasing rapidly, mentioning problems such as “insufficient sleep, depression, anxiety, self-harm, addictive behaviors, cyberbullying, exploitation, suicide.”
The head of the European Commission emphasized that the discussion should not be whether young people can use social media, but “if social media should have access to young people”.
The new EU rules will be included in the Digital Fairness Act, a legislative package that the Commission plans to present towards the end of the year. It would ban manipulative practices, addictive features and deceptive forms of influencer promotion.
In parallel, a group of experts is preparing a set of recommendations regarding a possible “delay” of minors’ access to the platforms.
“I think we have to take into account a delay in access to social media”, said von der Leyen, stating that a legislative project could be presented in the summer.
The president of the European Commission also insisted on limiting the use of artificial intelligence in social networks, accusing the platforms of treating children’s attention as a commercial resource. Ursula von der Leyen noted that TikTok is already targeted for its “addictive design, infinite scrolling, autoplay and aggressive notifications,” and Meta is criticized for not effectively enforcing the 13-year age limit on Instagram and Facebook.
The new measures will complement and strengthen the Digital Services Act, the European legislation that obliges major platforms to combat illegal and harmful content.
The European Commission is currently investigating TikTok, X and the Meta services for possible violations of the rules, including the use of the Grok system on X and the risks associated with manipulated images.
In another relevant decision, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in favor of Italy’s regulator in a dispute with Meta, ruling that the platform must compensate publishers for the excerpts of articles used.
TikTok recently filed a last-minute appeal to avoid “gatekeeper” status under European law, a status that would force the platform to follow much stricter rules.
We recall that in 2024, seven families in France sued TikTok, claiming that the platform contributed to the suicide of two 15-year-old teenagers by exposing them to extremely harmful content.
