EU Lawmakers Push for 16+ Social Media Age Limit in Bid to Protect Children

The move comes after years of rising concern about how online environments affect young people’s mental health, attention, and behavior.

The European Parliament wants to hit pause on kids’ scrolling — and it’s pushing for a Europe-wide age limit to make that happen.

Lawmakers in the European Parliament have voted overwhelmingly to call for stricter rules that would stop children under 16 from accessing social media, video-sharing platforms, and AI chatbots. The non-binding report passed with 483 votes in favour, 92 against, and 86 abstentions, according to the Parliament.

The move comes after years of rising concern about how online environments affect young people’s mental health, attention, and behavior. The Parliament said it holds “deep concern over the physical and mental health risks minors face online and calling for stronger protection against the manipulative strategies that can increase addiction and that are detrimental to ...