The European Commission has signalled that it may move towards restricting children’s access to social media after a new expert report linked heavy platform use to mental health and developmental concerns. Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the issue is not simply whether children can use social media, but whether platforms should be allowed to reach children without age-appropriate limits. If the EU follows through, it would mark the biggest attempt yet by a major political bloc to curb children’s use of services such as TikTok and Instagram.

The report, written by child psychologist Dr Jörg M. Fegert and epidemiologist Dr Maria Melchior, found that children in Europe spend around four to six hours a day on social media, and said nearly 60 percent had experienced socio-emotional or mental health-related difficulties, including sleep, concentration, depression and anxiety problems. It recommended restricting access for under-13s unless supervised by a parent or teacher, limiting teens aged 13 to 18 to platforms with safety features such as controls on infinite scrolling, and allowing no screen access at all for children under three. Any EU-wide law would need agreement from all 27 member states, which could take time, but the Commission says it will review the findings and present a proposal after the summer; the move comes as countries including Australia, France, Germany, Spain and the US state of Florida have already pursued similar rules.