EU social media ban for children under 13; supervised access proposed for those under 15

The European Union has decided to ban social media for children under 13 and permit limited supervised access until the age of 15 under plans unveiled Wednesday by EU chief Ursula von der LeyenGlobal kickbacks against social media has put pressure on policymakers with a rise of evidence showing negative impacts on the physical and mental health of childrenAustralia last year became the first country to place a ban social media for individuals under the age of 16 leading to a wave of similar moves elsewhereThe 27country bloc would take a gradual approach von der Leyen confirmed during her annual keynote address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg FranceEach age has its own sensitivities And therefore each will have its own tailored protection level she saidNo social media under the age of 13 No personal account under the age of 15 she said That means from 13 to under 15 only mini accounts set up and supervised by parents or guardians with limited features and time restriction to one hour a dayAnd between 15 and 18 safe design will be an obligation for the platformsBefore she sketched out the EUs approach von der Leyen paid tribute to a 14yearold girl in Belgium named Olea who killed herself one month ago after being bullied and whose mother she quoted as saying I am convinced that without these omnipresent networks my daughter would still be hereVon der Leyen made no mention to online games or AI chatbots which as per to draft legislation seen by AFP would also be hit by the restrictionsThe European Commission president and tech chief Henna Virkkunen will formally present the proposed KIDS Act as well as the tiered age limits in Strasbourg France on ThursdayThe EU will also ban addictive design features such as socalled infinite scrolling in instances children are concerned according to a draft documentIf platforms break the rules they will face fines of up to six percent of annual turnover draft details showEurope has the power to act It is we who decide our rules not big tech von der Leyen statedWe do not have to accept addictive features she warned saying platforms will have to prove that they are safeIt is not about our minors accessing social media It is about when and how do we allow social media to access minors von der Leyen addedThe risk is not just restricted to children she noted Addictive design for example is harming everyone she said telling EU lawmakers that Europe needed more rules that will be proposed in the autumnPressure from EU statesAmong those listening in the grand chamber was Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney whose country has also acted on reducing social media for under16sVon der Leyen had faced pressure from member states including France Denmark and Greece for action across the 27nation bloc to reduce online harms for childrenThe EU has sought for years to keep Big Tech in check empowering itself with a strengthened legal armoury that it now believes is not sufficientThe bloc has already informed Meta platforms Facebook and Instagram as well as TikTok to change their addictive design through its content law known as the Digital Services Act but changes are taking longer than Brussels expectsDigital and childrens rights groups have raised concerns over how the new social media curbs will work in practice as well as over a related agecheck app the EU is preparing to roll outAge verification is not a silver bullet and would raise serious privacy and data protection concerns said European consumer organisation BEUCs Agustin ReynaThursdays proposal can only become law after negotiations on a final text between EU capitals and the European Parliament which could end up taking monthsWith inputs from AFP