Brussels flags risks of social media use among European teenagers

The European Commission has warned of growing risks social media poses to children and teenagers on Tuesday 16 June, as Brussels moves closer to tightening protections for minors online.

The warning follows the final meeting of the Commission’s Special Panel on Child Safety Online, a body established by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to assess the psychological, social and developmental impact of digital platforms on young users.

Its recommendations are due to be presented on 13 July.

The panel’s work forms part of a broader EU push to strengthen enforcement under the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which already requires large online platforms to assess and mitigate risks to minors.

Screen time and mental health

A new Eurobarometer survey released alongside the meeting highlighted the scale of the challenge.

It found adolescents across Europe spend an average of 4.5 hours online on school days and 6.1 hours on weekends, with 14% reporting more than 10 hours of daily screen time.

Nearly one in three said social media leaves them feeling stressed, sad or excluded, while 45% admitted comparing themselves to others online. A quarter said they had encountered harmful content, including hate speech.

The findings also showed a link between earlier social media use and increased screen time, with younger users reporting significantly higher exposure levels.

“When one in three young people say it leaves them feeling stressed, sad or excluded, we cannot ignore the impact on their mental health and wellbeing,” von der Leyen said.

Digital Services Act

The Commission’s concern reflects a wider regulatory shift across Europe.

In 2025, Brussels introduced updated guidance under the Digital Services Act (DSA) aimed at reducing exposure to addictive platform design, cyberbullying, and harmful content targeting minors.

The DSA is the European Union’s flagship online regulation designed to make digital platforms more accountable for the content they host and the risks they create. Fully applicable since 2024, it sets legally binding obligations on major tech companies (including large platforms and search engines) to identify and reduce systemic risks such as harmful or illegal content, disinformation, and threats to minors’ safety.

It also introduces stricter transparency rules on algorithms and advertising, bans targeted ads to children based on profiling, and requires platforms to give users clearer ways to report and challenge harmful content.

The EU is also developing age verification tools linked to its broader digital identity framework.

Stricter online age rules

The debate is also gaining momentum internationally, with governments in the United Kingdom, Australia and parts of Europe exploring stricter age restrictions or platform limits for under-16s.

EU officials say the core challenge remains balancing child protection with privacy rights and freedom of expression, a debate expected to intensify as new recommendations are presented in July.

Read more:

• Britain to ban social media use for under-16s
• Azerbaijan considers social media age limits amid global move
• Sweden backs social media age limit as Europe tightens restrictions on children

Tags

News Europe Brussels European Union Social Media Ban teenagers Ursula Von der Leyen