EU Weighs Social Media Restrictions for Children

Von der Leyen frames the issue as access to children

At a press conference on July 13, Ursula von der Leyen said the question is not simply whether children should be online. Her framing put the focus on the platforms themselves and the age at which they should be allowed to reach young people.

“This is not about whether children can access social media. It is about when social media can access our children,” she said.

It is a careful line, but a pointed one. The Commission is presenting the issue less as a parental panic over phones and more as a regulatory question about powerful companies, persuasive design, and young audiences who are still developing.

What has to happen before this becomes law?

The European Commission will now assess the expert panel’s findings before deciding whether to draft formal legislation.

Even if the Commission moves ahead after the summer, the process would not be instant. Any proposal would need approval from both:

• The European Parliament
• The 27 member states of the European Union

Only after that could the measures become law across the bloc.

That gives platforms, governments, child safety advocates, and civil liberties groups time to push their views into the debate. Expect arguments over enforcement, privacy, age verification, parental choice, and whether restrictions can be effective without creating fresh risks for children’s data.

Why the pressure on platforms is growing

The recommendations come as European regulators are already turning up the heat on major technology companies.

Last week, a preliminary EU investigation found Meta in breach of the Digital Services Act over the allegedly “addictive” design of Facebook and Instagram. Meta owns both platforms, which remain central to the debate over how social media affects younger users.

If the EU adopts new rules, platforms would face added pressure to show that child safety is built into their services, not bolted on later as a setting most people never find.

The move would also add momentum to similar efforts in other countries, including the United Kingdom and Australia, where governments have been looking at ways to limit or regulate young people’s access to social media.

For families, the debate is familiar and exhausting: children want connection, entertainment, and independence; adults want fewer harms and fewer battles over screens. The EU’s proposal would not settle that tension overnight, but it would make clear that regulators are no longer treating youth access as a minor product feature.