EU chief backs calls to keep children off social media

United Nations, United States: EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday threw her support behind growing calls to ban social media use for children, promising to weigh action at the European level in coming months.

"Many member states believe the time has come for a 'digital majority age' for access to social media," the European Commission head told an event on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

"I must tell you as a mother of seven children, and grandmother of five, I share their view," she told the gathering in New York.

Von der Leyen was speaking alongside Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, whose country is at the forefront of global efforts to curb internet harms -- with its social media ban on under-16s a world-first.

Von der Leyen said she would establish a panel of experts and talk to parents, teachers and young people "to assess what steps make sense" at the EU level.

The 27-nation bloc has some of the world's strictest rules to fight harmful content online, with several investigations looking into how the biggest social media platforms protect children -- or not.

France, Greece and Spain are among several EU states pushing for restrictions on minors' access to online platforms.

They proposed earlier this year setting an age of digital adulthood across the bloc, but Brussels initially appeared lukewarm.

Von der Leyen's commission said at the time such a move would be for each member state to decide, rather than be imposed by the union's executive arm.

Social media companies including Facebook and Instagram owner Meta have expressed concerns about Australia's law.

French pressure

Denmark, which holds the six-month rotating EU presidency, has made the issue a priority and vowed to push the bloc to do more.

France has also driven the issue to the top of the agenda, having already passed a 2023 law requiring parental consent for social media users under the age of 15, higher than the 13-year-old limit set by the platforms themselves.

French lawmakers have gone further in calling for a "digital curfew" for older minors, for example, between 10 pm and 8 am for 15 to 18-year-olds.

They have focused particularly on concerns about TikTok -- owned by China-based ByteDance -- including content encouraging self harm.

France is also one of five EU countries testing an app aimed at preventing children from accessing harmful content online by checking users' ages.

Denmark, France, Greece, Italy and Spain will customise a prototype of an age-verification app to launch national versions within several months.