The head of the European Commission emphasized that the era of willfulness of large technology corporations in Europe is over, and the fight against algorithms that addict children becomes a priority.
Read also: Historic trial in Seattle. LOT accuses Boeing of fraud
No more “addictive design”
Ursula von der Leyen spoke strongly about the mechanisms used by the most popular applications. She noted that The EU does not intend to stand idly by and watch techniques that aim to maximize children's screen time.
— We don't have to accept social media's addictive website design. We don't have to accept that children are being drawn into increasingly extreme content, said von der Leyen.
The head of the European Commission also added that Europe strongly opposes the use of images of women and girls to create sexual images generated by artificial intelligence. She emphasized that the safety of products is the responsibility of their creators, not users.
DSA in action: TikTok, Meta and X under the microscope
The EU's Digital Services Regulations (DSA) have become a powerful tool in Brussels' hands. It was on their basis that a number of investigations were initiated against digital giants.
Read also: Taxes on internal combustion cars in Poland. There is a decision of the European Commission
The European Commission accuses the TikTok platform of using a design that encourages continuous scrolling, automatic playback of materials and aggressive push-up notifications, which prevents children from tearing themselves away from the application.
For Meta (Instagram and Facebook) the allegations concern the lack of effective age verification, which allows children under 13 to use the websites.
The proceedings against platform X concern using the Grok tool to create and distribute graphic materials depicting child sexual abuse.
The European Commission is also tracking down platforms that facilitate access to content promoting self-harm or eating disorders. — It is not the big technology companies, but Europe that sets its own rules for protecting children – von der Leyen recalled.
Minimum age on social media?
The President of the European Commission admitted that the steps taken so far are just the beginning. She announced the establishment of a special advisory group that will present recommendations regarding new security measures by the summer. One of the key topics of the debate is to be the introduction of a pan-European age limit for social media users.
“We can no longer ignore the discussion about the minimum age to use social media“- noted the head of the European Commission.
Currently, this demand is gaining support in most Member States. Denmark and nine other EU countries are already planning or introducing their own restrictions in this area. Brussels is working in parallel on technological solutions that will enable effective and safe verification of the age of Internet users, without violating their privacy.
