EU announces plan to ban social media for under 13s

The European Union is moving to ban social media for under 13s and impose restrictions on the digital technology for older children, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced Wednesday.

The move to develop EU-wide rules comes after several individual EU member states have introduced social media limits on teenagers amid a global push 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 under the age of 13. No personal account under the age of 15,” Von der Leyen said during her state of the union address in Strasbourg, France.

The EU would allow 13- and 14-year olds to have “mini accounts” with parental supervision and limited features, she added. The use of such accounts would be capped at one hour per day.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, would on Thursday propose a new Kids Act, Von der Leyen said. Under the act, the bloc would reverse the burden of proof, such that social media platforms would have to prove that they are safe for minors.

“I am aware that many perceive the power of big tech as overwhelming and impossible to roll back. I disagree,” Von der Leyen said. “Europe has the power to act. It is us who decide the rules, not Big Tech.”

欧盟委员会主席乌尔苏拉·冯德莱恩周三宣布，欧盟将禁止13岁以下儿童使用社交媒体，并对年龄较大的儿童使用数字技术施加限制。

在欧盟多个成员国陆续对青少年社交媒体使用进行限制之后，欧盟开始制定全欧盟范围内的统一规则。此前，全球范围内都在推动限制儿童使用社交媒体。澳大利亚于2025年12月成为世界上第一个禁止16岁以下青少年使用社交媒体的国家。

“13岁以下不得使用社交媒体。15岁以下不得拥有个人账户，”冯德莱恩在法国斯特拉斯堡发表国情咨文时说道。

她补充说，欧盟将允许13岁和14岁的青少年拥有“迷你账户”，但需在家长监督下使用，且功能有限。此类账户每天的使用时间将被限制在一小时以内。

欧盟执行机构欧盟委员会主席冯德莱恩表示，该委员会将于周四提出一项新的《儿童法案》。根据该法案，欧盟将颠倒举证责任，社交媒体平台必须证明其对未成年人安全。

冯德莱恩表示：“我知道很多人认为大型科技公司的权力强大到无法撼动，我对此持不同意见。欧洲有能力采取行动。制定规则的是我们，而不是大型科技公司。”