European Commission President Pushes New Law Restricting Teen Social Media Access

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called Tuesday for the European Union to delay social media access for children, signaling that the bloc could move toward binding legal restrictions on young teenagers' use of the platforms within months.

Speaking at a conference in Copenhagen, von der Leyen said an expert panel appointed by the commission will release recommendations in the coming weeks on how the EU can better safeguard children online. She indicated those recommendations could lead to a formal legal proposal on minimum age requirements for social media access as soon as this summer.

"We are witnessing the lightning speed at which technology is advancing — and how it penetrates every corner of childhood and adolescence," von der Leyen said. "And the discussions about a minimum age for social media can no longer be ignored."

The European Commission holds the power to recommend legislation but cannot enact laws on its own. Europe's parliament would be required to pass any formal restrictions before they take effect.

Experts nonetheless described von der Leyen's remarks as a meaningful signal. Isabelle Roccia, the managing director for Europe at the IAPP, said the timing reflects a desire to prevent a patchwork of national rules from emerging across the bloc.

"The commission was seeing the debate percolate across a number of member states and so having a commission level action is one way to say, 'Okay, member states, just hold your horses. Let's do something at EU level to not have fragmentation,'" Roccia said. "That was significant… because she was the messenger and because it's a signal to member states that the EU level is seizing the issue."

Several European countries — including Spain, Greece, Norway, France, Denmark, Turkey, and the Netherlands — have already said they are considering or actively implementing age verification protocols to limit young teens' access to social media platforms.

Von der Leyen's remarks also addressed what she characterized as addictive design features built into the platforms. She referenced the forthcoming Digital Fairness Act, or DFA, which she said will "target addictive and harmful design practices [like]... attention capture, complex contracts, subscription traps, etcetera." The DFA is expected to be unveiled later this year and is designed to expand on the existing Digital Services Act, which holds social media companies accountable for hosting harmful and unlawful content.

"In Europe, safety must be there from the start, not added as an afterthought," von der Leyen said.

The commission is currently investigating Meta for possible violations of the Digital Services Act, including allegations that the company has not done enough to protect minors and has deployed addictive design features. A separate DSA probe has also been launched into xAI's Grok nudification tool.

The push from Brussels comes as momentum builds on both sides of the Atlantic for legislative guardrails around children's social media use. In the United States on the same day, Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz publicly backed the Kids Online Safety Act, known as KOSA, pledging to advance the bill out of committee after making a surprise appearance at a kids' digital safety rally near the Capitol.

With a commission-level legal proposal potentially on the table before the end of the summer, the EU's trajectory on child online safety is now being watched closely by platform operators, member state governments, and digital rights advocates alike — underscoring how quickly a once-fragmented policy conversation has consolidated into a concrete legislative push.