The European Commission has proposed sweeping new restrictions on children's use of social media, including an outright ban for those under 13 and tightly controlled "mini-accounts" for teenagers between 13 and 15. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled the plans during her annual State of the Union address in Strasbourg, citing the mental health toll that unregulated platform use is inflicting on young people across Europe. To illustrate the urgency, she quoted the mother of Oléa, a Belgian teenager who died by suicide after being cyberbullied: "I am convinced that without these omnipresent networks, my daughter would still be here."

Under the proposed legislation — formally called the EU Children Act or "Kids Act" — children under 13 would be prohibited from creating social media accounts entirely. Those aged 13 to 15 could access platforms only through parental-controlled mini-accounts, subject to a one-hour daily screen time limit and restricted functionality designed to limit addictive scrolling. Users aged 15 to 18 would have greater autonomy, though platforms would still be legally required to ensure their services are designed safely for that age group. The rules would extend beyond social networks such as TikTok, Instagram and Facebook to cover video platforms, AI chatbots and online games. Von der Leyen stated plainly that "Europe has the power — we set the rules, not Big Tech."

The proposal faces significant political and technical hurdles before it can become law. It must pass through the European Parliament and receive the backing of all 27 EU member states, a process that could take months or years. Critics within the parliament argue that age limits alone are insufficient. Green MEP David Cormand warned that the measures risk becoming a distraction from deeper reform, arguing that without targeting addictive algorithms, business models and inadequate content moderation, the underlying problems will remain unaddressed. Others, including digital rights experts, raised civil liberties concerns: effective enforcement would require all users — not just children — to verify their age, raising serious questions about privacy and surveillance.

Age verification technology remains a central sticking point. While the EU's forthcoming EUDI Wallet — a bloc-wide digital identity app storing documents like passports and driving licences — has been proposed as a possible verification tool, critics note that in many countries ID cards are not mandatory until age 16, leaving a gap for the very children the law aims to protect. Comparable bans elsewhere, such as Australia's law prohibiting social media use for under-16s, have proven relatively easy for young people to circumvent. Experts remain divided on whether any technical solution can reliably verify age without compromising the privacy of millions of users.

Why this matters: with studies consistently linking heavy social media use to anxiety and depression among adolescents, pressure on policymakers has been mounting across the continent. Countries including Spain, the Netherlands and France have already backed stricter national measures, and the Commission's proposal reflects a broader political consensus that self-regulation by platforms has failed. Whether the Kids Act delivers meaningful protection or simply shifts responsibility without addressing the structural incentives driving harmful content will depend heavily on the details — to be published Thursday — and on the enforcement mechanisms ultimately agreed upon.