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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called for stronger protections for children online, saying the evidence presented by the Special Panel on Child Safety Online should help shape future European policy.
Von der Leyen said the evidence increasingly supported introducing a minimum age for access to social media and suggested a phased approach for different age groups.
During a press conference in Brussels, the EU chief said the argument to ban toddlers from screens and digital platforms, and that children under 13 should only be allowed to use social media under adult supervision and for limited periods, was the “most convincing”.
“Social media is not a toy,” she said, warning that “the status quo, a world where we continue to allow big tech unrestricted access to our children, will only consign another generation to more mental harm, addiction and misery.”
According to data from the research, young people spend between four and six hours a day on screens, while almost 60% of young children have experienced emotional or psychosocial problems online.
The commission’s president backed wider use of age verification technology, stressing that the debate was not about whether children should ever use social media but “whether and when social media can access our children.”
Tech companies have “duty of care”
Von der Leyen also argued that technology companies, rather than parents or children, should bear responsibility for making online platforms safe, as they have a “duty of care to their users”.
“In Europe, whoever develops a product is responsible for its safety,” she continued. “Car manufacturers must make their vehicles safe. We do not expect children to design their own seatbelts. We do not expect parents to fit airbags at home. And the very same must be true for big tech.”
Dr Maria Melcior, a co-author of the report, said “we are all aware of the extraordinary opportunities that technology brings us but we also know that the potential dangers are just as great.”
The report identified services that contain age-inappropriate features such as infinite scrolling, autoplay and persistent notifications, describing them as “social media+”.
Professor Jörg Fegert, from the University of Ulm in Germany, said “on the basis of the evidence we have, we would recommend an EU-wide harmonisation of an introduction of an age restriction for access to social media+ under the age of 13.”
The Commission will review the panel’s recommendations before presenting legislative proposals after the summer, von der Leyen confirmed, adding: “Because childhood will not wait. And once it is gone, we cannot give it back.”
Additional sources • AFP