"Ursula von der Leyen pledges EU-wide social media ban for children", 13 July 2026

The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has pledged an EU-wide social media ban for children after an expert group called for restrictions for those under 13...

The panel, which was co-chaired by the German child and adolescent psychiatrist Jörg Fegert and the French epidemiologist Maria Melchior, called for an EU-wide delay to “social media plus” for under-13s. “Social media plus” refers to other platforms that use similar features, such as video games or AI chatbots.

It suggested governments of member states could opt for higher “precautionary” age restrictions on social media use...

The European Commission has already concluded preliminary indictments against Meta and TikTok in cases that could force the companies to change the “addictive” nature of their apps. The owner of Facebook and Instagram had failed to tackle the risks of its addictive design on users, the commission said on Friday, having reached a similar conclusion against TikTok in April.

The two companies have rejected the commission’s findings, and investigations continue...

For ages three to 12, the group recommended time-limited use of the internet with a carer or teacher, with supervision gradually decreasing...