EU to outline plans for underage social media restriction

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is set to outline draft plans for a series of EU-wide underage social media restrictions, potentially including a mooted under 13s age ban or parental permission restrictions for anyone aged under 15.

The proposal, expected to be called 'EU Kids Act', will be outlined by Ms von der Leyen in her annual state of the union address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday.

It will then be further detailed by the European Commission president and her colleague Henna Virkkunen, who is the EU's executive vice-president of tech sovereignty, security and democracy, at a Brussels briefing on Thursday.

The draft plans are expected to include what is being termed a "block" or "delay" on children and teenagers' access to social media platforms.

While a specific age restriction has not yet been finalised, there is ongoing debate on whether to ban children and teenagers under the age of 13 from accessing social media platforms, with an alternative option of parental consent for teenagers aged 13 to 15 also being considered.

The Irish Government and its counterparts in other EU member states have in recent months emphasised the need for some kind of social media restrictions to be introduced for children and young teens.

However, significant debate has taken place over what age limit would be acceptable, whether it could be legally implemented due to recent legislative rows in France over such a policy, and if it would be effective given difficulties in practically implementing similar measures in Australia.

Meanwhile, the expected announcement of the ‘EU Kids Act’ plans on Thursday - plans which will need to be ratified across all EU bodies including the European Parliament and European Commission before becoming law - is likely to mean that Ms von der Leyen will not attend Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Thursday.

Politico.eu has reported that while Mr Carney will be in attendance for Ms von der Leyen's state of the union address on Wednesday, the European Commission will instead be represented by EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic - and not the European Commission president herself - on Thursday.

In his own speech to MEPs, Mr Carney is likely to outline his desire for closer relations between the EU and Canada, a suggestion that comes a month before a high-profile Canada-EU summit in October and amid ongoing friction between Mr Carney and US President Donald Trump.