The European Commission plans to take regulatory action against TikTok and Instagram over platform design features linked to addictive behavior in children, EU Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen announced May 12 at the European Summit on Artificial Intelligence and Children in Denmark.

“We are taking action against TikTok and its addictive design – endless scrolling, autoplay, and push notifications. The same applies to Meta, because we believe Instagram and Facebook are failing to enforce their own minimum age of 13,” Von der Leyen said.

The Commission could have a legal proposal ready as early as summer 2026, pending findings from its Special Panel of experts on Child Safety Online.

Age Verification and Harmful Content

The Commission has developed its own age verification application, which Von der Leyen described as meeting “the highest privacy standards in the world.” EU member states will be able to integrate the tool into their digital wallets, and online platforms will be required to support it. “No more excuses – the technology for age-verification is available,” she said.

Von der Leyen also confirmed that the Commission is investigating platforms that expose children to harmful content, including videos promoting eating disorders and self-harm.

The action follows a preliminary investigation finding that Meta breached the EU’s Digital Services Act by failing to prevent under-13s from accessing its platforms. The Commission found that minors are able to bypass existing age checks with relative ease.

Broader Regulatory Context

The EU’s move sits within a broader regulatory agenda. The Commission is preparing a Digital Fairness Act that would address addictive design features, dark patterns, misleading Influencer Marketing, and unfair personalization practices targeting vulnerable consumers, according to a briefing from the European Parliamentary Research Service.

A 2024 coordinated sweep of 576 influencer accounts across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, X, Snapchat, and Twitch found that 97% posted commercial content, but only about 20% systematically disclosed posts as advertisements.

Governments outside the EU are also moving on child safety. Australia enacted a social media ban for under-16s in December. Spain, France, and the United Kingdom are each developing their own legislation. In the United States, Meta and YouTube lost a court ruling in March that found design features, including infinite scrolling and autoplay, contributed to addiction and mental health harms in teenagers.

Source: CNBC

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