Strasbourg, France, Sept 17. (dpa/GNA) – The European Commission, on Thursday unveiled details of plans to ban children under 13 from social media, and impose new restrictions on gaming sites and AI chatbots as part of efforts to improve online safety for minors.
The technology “was not created with children’s well-being and development in mind,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday.
“Platforms are designed to capture attention. Algorithms learn from our behaviour that they exploit to make us click, react, and keep scrolling. And too often these addictive features are a business plan,” she said, speaking at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, where she first announced the plans on Wednesday.
The proposal aims to oblige the platforms, to show that they are made in a way so they are safe for minors, she said.
Under the plans, children will have access to social media under parental supervision from age 13, but will only be able to create a personal account once they turn 15.
The proposal also includes new restrictions for providers of other online services, that include social media features, like video sharing platforms, online video games, artificial intelligence (AI) companions and chatbots.
The safeguards “include a ban on addictive features and profiling-based recommender feeds dragging minors into ‘rabbit holes’ of harmful content,” a press release said. This “also includes prohibiting infinite scroll, without stopping points, reward tricks, and push notifications during sleeping hours, as well as unsolicited contact from strangers.”
AI chatbots designed to provide emotional support, would also have to include safeguards to prevent children from developing an emotional dependency on the technology, and to reduce the risk of harmful interactions with the chatbot.
This comes after reports that in some cases, AI applications failed to respond appropriately to users expressing suicidal thoughts. “Profiles for minors must be private by default, with geolocation, camera and microphone access turned off,” the press statement said.
The European Parliament and EU countries are to scrutinize and amend the proposal. It could take months or even years before an agreement on the final version of the law is reached.
EU countries can already impose restrictions on children’s access to social media, but responsibility for ensuring compliance currently falls largely on parents.
Requiring online giants to carry out age checks can only be imposed through EU legislation. Von der Leyen, a former German family and social affairs minister, has campaigned for a safer use of social media tools by children.
“Today there is a robust body of evidence on the harm that social media does to a developing brain and personality,” she said. “Too many children are being exposed too early to an online world they are not ready to navigate, an environment where bullying can follow you home, where every mistake can be recorded forever.” “We all know the consequences: sleep deprivation, depression, anxiety, self-harm, addictive behaviour, and tragically suicide. Parents cannot compete or keep up against algorithms, and they should not have to.”
Interim law German Education Minister, Karin Prien, has backed plans to restrict social media use among children and teenagers, calling for effective age checks alongside greater media literacy and better information for parents. She also announced plans for a German interim solution, while EU-wide rules are being developed. “We will present key points for German transitional legislation in October,” she said on Thursday.
Among other measures, Germany’s laws protecting minors are to be tightened and gaps in criminal law closed.
The German government plans to work closely with the European Commission, she said.
GNA