EU Proposes Strict Age Limits for Social Media, Games and AI Assistants

The European Union laid out plans on Thursday for strict age limits governing children's access to social media, video games and AI assistants, according to France 24.

Under the proposals, technology companies would be required to make their platforms safe before minors are allowed to use them, France 24 reported.

Speaking to France 24's Mark Owen, Lisa Dittmer, a researcher on children and young people's digital rights at Amnesty International, said "the harms have come to outweigh the benefits of social media and it is time for the EU to regulate at the design level, not simply accepting that responsibility be pushed on to parents."

Dittmer's comments, made in an interview with France 24, frame the EU's move as part of a broader push to shift responsibility for online child safety from families to the companies that design and operate digital platforms.

France 24's report did not provide further details on the specific age thresholds proposed or the timeline for implementation of the EU plans.