Von der Leyen eyes tougher social media restrictions for kids

The EU's President will appoint a panel of experts to advise on social media restrictions for minors by the end of the year.

EU president Ursula von der Leyen used her annual State of the Union speech to signal a tougher approach on children’s use of social media.

She said the Commission will examine minors’ access to social media and consider tougher restrictions – looking into the effects of children’s “unfettered access to social media”, and noting that minors are being exposed to bullying, adult content and self-harm online.

Von der Leyen also announced that she would engage a panel of experts to advise her on kids use of social media. But her speech was silent on whether the EU is planning any new online child protection laws.

The EU’s president went on to attack social media algorithms that “prey” on the vulnerability of children, saying algorithms have been created that explicitly increase addictive behaviours. (...)