BRUSSELS: European lawmakers have proposed stricter rules to protect minors online, including a bloc-wide minimum age of 16 for accessing social media and AI companions without parental consent.
A report adopted by the European Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee recommended that no child under 13 be allowed to access social media, even with parental permission.
Lawmakers also called for fines and bans on platforms that violate the bloc’s Digital Services Act rules on protecting minors.
Danish EU lawmaker Christel Schaldemose stated that a higher bar for social media access and stronger safeguards for minors using online services are needed.
To curb access to harmful content, lawmakers backed banning engagement-based algorithms for minors and disabling addictive design features.
They also supported prohibiting gambling-like mechanisms such as loot boxes in games accessible to children.
The report said platforms should be barred from monetising or incentivising minors acting as influencers.
Adopted in committee by a wide majority, the proposal will be put to a vote by the full parliament during its November plenary session.
This lawmaker push adds to growing momentum for EU-wide action to ban social media use for children.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen personally supports such a move, with an expert panel to report back by year end on potential EU-level steps.
Twenty-five of the EU’s 27 countries alongside Norway and Iceland signed a declaration this month backing von der Leyen’s plans to study a potential digital majority age. – AFP
