The EU has announced plans to restrict access to social media for children under 16 in all of its member states in a bid to boost welfare and ensure safety online.
Under the plans, there will be a gradual approach to children’s use of social media, which will include banning children under 13 from accessing the platforms.
Children aged 13 to 15 will only be able to access the platforms for an hour a day through “mini-accounts” created through their parent or guardian’s social media account.
The European Commission said social media companies will have to prove their platforms are safe by design, and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said the move would “put parents back in the driving seat.”
She added that the legislation, called the EU Children’s Act, would provide parents with “tools to help their children navigate a safer world”.
According to the law, only children aged 15 and over will be able to create their own social media accounts.
Von der Leyen has previously suggested “delaying” social media for children in Europe, saying in May that “the debate about the minimum age for social media can no longer be ignored.”
The policy, formally outlined on Thursday, was also reflected in the EU chief’s annual address to the EU parliament on Wednesday.
Some individual EU countries have already announced their own plans to restrict social media for children, including France and Spain.
