EU chief backs calls to keep children off social media


By AFP
September 24, 2025


French lawmakers have expressed particular concerns about harms posed by TikTok as they called for a 'digital curfew' for minors - Copyright AFP/File Angelos Tzortzinis

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday threw her support behind growing calls to ban social media use for children, promising to weigh action at the European level in coming months.

“Many member states believe the time has come for a ‘digital majority age’ for access to social media,” the European Commission head told an event on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

“I must tell you as a mother of seven children, and grandmother of five, I share their view,” she told the gathering in New York.

Von der Leyen was speaking alongside Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, whose country is at the forefront of global efforts to curb internet harms — with its social media ban on under-16s a world-first.

“We all agree that young people should reach a certain age before they smoke, drink, or have access to adult content,” she said. “The same can be said for social media.”

Von der Leyen said she would establish a panel of experts and talk to parents, teachers and young people “to assess what steps make sense” at the EU level.

The 27-nation bloc has some of the world’s strictest rules to fight harmful content online, with several investigations looking into how the biggest social media platforms protect children — or not.

France, Greece and Spain are among several EU states pushing for restrictions on minors’ access to online platforms.

They proposed earlier this year setting an age of digital adulthood across the bloc, but Brussels initially appeared lukewarm.

Von der Leyen’s commission said at the time such a move would be for each member state to decide, rather than be imposed by the union’s executive arm.

Social media companies including Facebook and Instagram owner Meta have expressed concerns about Australia’s law.

– French pressure –

Denmark, which holds the six-month rotating EU presidency, has made the issue a priority and vowed to push the bloc to do more.

France has also driven the issue to the top of the agenda, having already passed a 2023 law requiring parental consent for social media users under the age of 15, higher than the 13=year-old limit set by the platforms themselves.

French lawmakers have gone further in calling for a “digital curfew” for older minors, for example, between 10 pm and 8 am for 15 to 18-year-olds.

They have focused particularly on concerns about TikTok — owned by China-based ByteDance — including content encouraging self harm.

France is also one of five EU countries testing an app aimed at preventing children from accessing harmful content online by checking users’ ages.

Denmark, France, Greece, Italy and Spain will customise a prototype of an age-verification app to launch national versions within several months.


WhatsApp, Twitch among sites that could face Australia under-16s social media ban


By AFP
September 24, 2025


Tech companies including WhatsApp and Reddit as well as streaming giant Twitch and gaming firm Roblox could be among more than a dozen sites added to Australia's social media ban for under-16s, the country's regulator said Wednesday - Copyright AFP/File Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV

Laura CHUNG

Tech companies including WhatsApp and Reddit as well as streaming giant Twitch and gaming firm Roblox could be among more than a dozen sites added to Australia’s social media ban for under-16s, the country’s regulator said Wednesday.

Platforms such as Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube were already included in the ban — a world-first.

But the head of Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, has written to 16 more companies to “self-assess” whether they fall under the ban’s remit.

The list also included Pinterest as well as Lego Play, streaming company Kick and gaming platform Steam.

Companies will need to make a case if they believe their platform should be exempt from the ban, the national broadcaster ABC said.

Inman Grant told the network that while some cases were “pretty clear”, the regulator would “give them the due diligence process”.

“We need to hear them all out,” she said.

The regulator said it will initially focus on platforms with the greatest number of users, where there are higher risks of harm.

Australia has been a leader in global efforts to prevent internet harm, but current legislation offers almost no details on how the ban will be enforced — prompting concern among experts that it will simply be a symbolic piece of unenforceable legislation.

The eSafety Commission will be able to fine social media companies up to Aus$49.5 million ($32.6 million) for failing to comply with the rules.

Social media companies have described the laws as “vague”, “problematic” and “rushed”.

Canberra has struggled to pin down how precisely platforms will verify the ages of their users.

This month, Communications Minister Anika Wells conceded that firms would need to self-regulate.

An independent study ordered by the Australian government found this month that age checking can be done “privately, efficiently and effectively”, though it admitted no single solution would fit all contexts.

The regulator has also introduced a number of rules taking effect in Australia in the coming months to protect children from “lawful but awful” content, including online pornography and AI chatbots capable of sexually explicit conversations.

This month, Roblox agreed to curb the risk of adults grooming children on its platform in Australia.