Brussels moves to rein in addictive design
The European Commission will pursue regulation later this year aimed at social media design features that may foster addictive use among children, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday. Speaking at the European Summit on Artificial Intelligence and Children in Denmark, von der Leyen singled out mechanics such as endless scrolling, autoplay and push notifications as targets for regulatory action, specifically naming TikTok as a platform under scrutiny.
Regulatory scrutiny of age enforcement
Von der Leyen also said the Commission is examining Meta for alleged lapses in enforcing its minimum age requirement of 13 on Instagram and Facebook. The inquiry is part of a broader probe into platforms that permit access by children to harmful material, including videos that promote eating disorders or self-harm, the Commission president said.
Technical response - age verification app
As part of its approach, the Commission has developed an age verification application built to privacy standards that member states can incorporate into their digital wallets. Online platforms would be able to use this verification mechanism to confirm user age, von der Leyen said.
Timeline and process
The Commission plans to prepare a legal proposal by summer, but that timeline is contingent on advice from its Special Panel of experts on Child Safety Online. The panel's guidance will inform the proposal that the Commission expects to present later in the season.
International context
Von der Leyen noted that this initiative comes amid a global wave of legislative attention on child safety and social media harms. She framed the move as part of coordinated efforts to examine how design choices and platform practices affect children.
Details in the coming months will depend on the expert panel's recommendations and how member states choose to adopt the Commission's technical solution for age checks.