EU Restricts Kids' Social Media Access: What's Next

Imagine a parent scrolling through a social feed, pausing at a notification that a child has joined yet another app. Short pause. A decision looms. Sooner or later, lawmakers decided, those choices won't be left to households alone.

The European Commission has signalled a major shift. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed that Brussels will table new rules this year aimed at tightening minors' access to social media across the EU. The proposals follow recommendations from an expert panel tasked with mapping out how to shield children from the most harmful corners of the internet.

Under the draft recommendations, children under 13 would face strict limits: access only in a supervised, tightly controlled form. Restrictions would ease progressively as young people grow older and demonstrate more digital maturity. Crucially, the panel argues the onus should move from the family to the platform: before allowing young users, social networks would have to prove they are safe environments.

Platforms would need to demonstrate safety measures for young users before granting access. That sentence alone flips the script on decades of self-regulation. It asks big tech to show—not just promise—that features, moderation and privacy defaults are built with children in mind.

This is not an isolated idea. Australia last year became the first country to impose a nationwide ban on social media for under-16s. France, Greece and several other EU nations have debated or adopted age-based restrictions. The UK, Canada and others are also moving toward tougher rules. What we are seeing is a patchwork of national experiments converging on a similar premise: younger users need different rules.

Brussels plans to present its full proposal after the summer, with legislative outlines expected during von der Leyen's State of the Union address in September. The coming months will test how regulators balance child protection, freedom of expression and the technical realities of identity verification at scale. Will platforms build safer spaces, or will industry find workarounds? Either way, families and policymakers are about to find out.