EU chief says ‘time for change’ on children’s social media access

BRUSSELS: EU chief Ursula von der Leyen warned on Tuesday it was “time for change” on children’s access to social media as a new survey showed their exposure to violence, hate speech and other harmful content online.

After Australia became the first country in the world to ban social media for children under 16, a move emulated this week by Britain, the 27-nation EU is exploring a similar step.

Von der Leyen tasked an expert panel to study what action the EU should take to protect minors online after member states including France pushed for a ban.

The panel, including medical professionals and parents’ representatives, met for the last time on Tuesday and will deliver its recommendations on July 13.

“Young people are confronted with problematic content online — from hate speech, to body pressure, to unexpected violence — it is a clear signal that it is time for change,” von der Leyen said in a statement.

The European Commission chief has previously indicated her personal support for limiting children’s access to social media, and said there could be a legal proposal in the summer.

The commission, which acts as the EU’s digital watchdog, published a survey Tuesday revealing what it termed “excessive” screen and social media use by teenagers aged 13 to 18.

Nearly one in three teenagers explicitly reported feeling stressed, sad or socially excluded because of social media, the survey found.

It also showed a quarter of adolescents are confronted by hate speech, and almost as many see content that puts pressure to look a certain way or follow certain body standards, described as examples of “harmful or distressing content”.