EU Moves to Ban Social Media for Under-13s

The European Union will ban social media for children under 13 and permit only limited, supervised access until the age of 15, under plans unveiled on Wednesday by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, according to The Local Italy. Announcing the proposal, von der Leyen said "Europe has power to act" — framing the measure as a bloc-wide response to concerns about minors online rather than a matter left to individual member states.

The proposal, as reported, sets a hard floor at 13 and a supervised band between 13 and 15, meaning platforms would need age-verification and parental or guardian oversight to keep older children online. It is a plan, not yet law: the Commission has put the measure forward, and the ordinary EU legislative process — Parliament and member states — would follow before any rule takes effect.

For Italy the question is practical as much as legal. Italian pupils already encounter phones and platforms inside school hours, and any bloc-wide age floor would require schools, families and platforms to agree on how age is checked and who supervises the 13-to-15 group. The wire does not yet set out the enforcement mechanism, the penalties, or the timetable.