The European Union is moving to ban social media for under-13s across the region and impose restrictions on digital technology for older children, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Wednesday.
The move to create EU-wide rules comes after several EU member states introduced social media restrictions for young people, amid a global movement to restrict children’s access to social media. Australia became the first country in the world to ban social media for under-16s in December 2025.
“No social media for anyone under 13. No personal accounts for anyone under 15,” von der Leyen said in her State of the Union address in Strasbourg, France.
The EU will allow 13- and 14-year-olds to have “mini accounts” with parental supervision and limited functionality, it added. Use of such accounts is limited to one hour per day.
Most major social media platforms have already announced bans on children under 13, but lawmakers and online safety experts question whether they are doing enough to enforce the rules.
Ms von der Leyen said the EU’s executive body, the European Commission, was expected to propose a new children’s law on Thursday. Under the law, blockchain would reverse the burden of proof and social media platforms would have to prove they are safe for minors.
“I know that many people perceive the power of big technology to be overwhelming and irreversible, but I disagree,” von der Leyen said. “Europe has the power to act. We, not Big Tech, set the rules.”
In reality, it could take years for children’s law to cross the line. It would have to be approved by each EU member state, some of which are already moving ahead with social media bans in their countries.
France became the first EU member state to ban social media for children under 15, following a vote by French lawmakers in July. However, the ban was later overturned by the country’s Constitutional Court. Spain, Denmark and Sweden, among other EU member states, are pushing for age restrictions on social media use.
Lauro Fava, a partner at law firm Pinsent Masons, said the EU Kids Act would become a “new EU behemoth”, comparable to existing digital services laws and AI laws that regulate large online platforms.
“For affected companies, it will allow them to comply with a single, consistent and potentially more balanced rulebook than if they had to deal with the laws of a large number of member states,” he said in a commentary on Tuesday after EU-wide online safety measures were trailed in media coverage.
Regarding AI, von der Leyen said she is optimistic that artificial intelligence has the potential to “benefit humanity if used correctly.”
But he added that to unlock the technology’s potential, the “huge risks” associated with it must be addressed, including “hacking at a level never thought possible.”
Von der Leyen said she would invite major AI institutes to discussions on how the European Union could support industry efforts to slow technology development. This is what the leaders of Anthropic, OpenAI, and xAI have been calling for in recent days.
– Clare Duffy contributed to this report.
