EU Weighs Social Media Age Restrictions07/13 06:21

   

   BRUSSELS (AP) -- A top European Union official on Monday called for limits 
to be placed on children using social media as a special EU panel looking into 
the challenge recommended forbidding access for those under 13 until tech 
companies can prove their platforms are safe.

   Growing awareness of the dangers social media poses for young, developing 
brains has shown up in a wave of new restrictions globally. Australia, the 
U.K., Turkey, Indonesia and others have passed bans on kids under 16 or 15 from 
using platforms like TikTok, YouTube and Instagram.

   Laying out a list of her concerns about the use of social media by kids, 
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen -- a doctor by training -- 
said that children under 3 should have no exposure to screens at all.

   "I believe we need to consider phased and gradual access for different age 
ranges because childhood won't wait and once it's gone, we can never give it 
back," von der Leyen told reporters.

   "Just as we don't give our children keys to the car before they have their 
license, or we do not let them buy alcohol until they are legally allowed. We 
need to set the age at which they can, the children can, legally access social 
media," she said.

   Von der Leyen noted infinite scrolling as one of the "addictive" traits that 
tech companies must address.

   Beyond toddlers, she did not mention any precise restrictions, but she and 
the European Commission -- the EU's powerful executive branch -- are likely to 
come up with a proposal for the 27 member countries to weigh in the near 
future. Von der Leyen's policy proposals carry great influence with EU member 
countries.

   A special panel set up to study child safety online delivered its report to 
the EU chief on Monday. The report said that when it comes to safety, "the 
burden of proof needs to be on providers, not regulators, parents and children."

   "Until they demonstrate that their services are safe by design, social media 
and other digital services providers should have restricted access to children 
under the age of 13 in the EU," said the report, which is likely to influence 
von der Leyen's thinking.

   It recommended that "further precautionary age restrictions" should be 
considered by EU countries for children over 13.