European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has backed a call for a minimum age for access to social media.
Many European Union countries “believe that the time has come for a ‘digital age of majority‘ for access to social media. And I have to tell you, as a mother of seven children and grandmother of five grandchildren, I share their view,” she said during an event at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
EU countries such as Greece, France and Denmark, asPolitico notes, have been pushing in recent months to set a digital age of majority, arguing that social media is causing harm to minors.
However, how this would be implemented is the subject of intense debate among policymakers.
As a reminder, Australia has set a minimum age of 16 for signing up for accounts on certain social media sites since late this year.
Speaking alongside Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, von der Leyen confirmed plans to set up an EU commission to “assess what measures make sense at the European level”.
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