BRUSSELS: The European Parliament called on Wednesday for the European Union to set minimum ages for children to access social media, to combat a rise in mental health problems among adolescents from excessive exposure.
The call, which is not binding, comes as Australia is poised to institute the world’s first social media ban for children younger than 16 and as Denmark and Malaysia also plan bans.
French President Emmanuel Macron has previously called for EU regulation to ban social media for children under 15, although it is not quite clear how the EU would carry this out, given it is up to individual EU members to impose age limits.
Parliament’s resolution, backed by 483 votes to 92, with 86 abstentions, called for an EU-wide ban on access for children under 16 to online platforms, video-sharing sites and AI companions without parental consent and an outright ban for those younger than 13.
“We are in the middle of an experiment, an experiment where American and Chinese tech giants have unlimited access to the attention of our children and young people for hours every single day almost entirely without oversight,” Danish lawmaker Christel Schaldemose, the resolution’s sponsor, told the parliament in a debate on Tuesday.
Schaldemose said those behind the experiment included X boss Elon Musk and Meta’s Marc Zuckerberg and China’s Communist Party and “their tech proxies at TikTok.”
The effects of social media on children’s health and safety have become a growing global concern, with companies including TikTok, Snapchat, Google and Meta Platforms — the operator of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp — facing lawsuits in the United States for their role in fueling a mental health crisis.
Parliament’s resolution also called for a ban on loot boxes, virtual items that can be won or bought with real money, and on engagement-based recommender algorithms for minors, as well as legislation to require age-appropriate content design.
“With this report, we finally draw a line. We are saying clearly to the platforms ‘You’re services are not designed for children and the experiment ends here’,” Schaldemose said.
EU Parliament pushes for age limits on social media to safeguard minors
https://arab.news/2k46j
EU Parliament pushes for age limits on social media to safeguard minors
- Parliament’s resolution called for an EU-wide ban on access for children under 16 to online platforms, video-sharing sites and AI companions without parental consent
Pull him off TV: Steve Bannon shuts down Sen. Lindsey Graham
- Trump’s former chief strategist called for the senator to be registered as a foreign agent
DUBAI: Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon called on Tuesday for US Senator Lindsey Graham to be registered as a foreign agent of the Israeli government, escalating a growing conservative backlash against the senator’s vocal support for Israel.
Speaking on his podcast “War Room,” Bannon said Graham should be “pulled off of television,” adding: "This is dangerous… because you have guys like Lindsey Graham and dozens more that are doing the wrong thing.”
In a Fox News interview on Monday, Graham said: “To all the antisemites, to all the isolationists… I’m not with you, I’m with Israel, I will be with Israel to our dying day.”
Graham also urged Gulf Arab states to join military action against Iran. “What I want you to do in the Middle East, to our friends in Saudi Arabia and other places, [is] step forward and say, ‘this is my fight too, I join America, I’m publicly involved in bringing this regime down,’” he said.
In a post on X, Graham questioned the value of a US defense agreement with Saudi Arabia following the evacuation of the American embassy in Riyadh, writing: “Why should America do a defense agreement with a country like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that is unwilling to join a fight of mutual interest?”
Faisal Abbas, editor-in-chief of Arab News, responded to Graham’s comments in a Sky News interview, saying: “He flip flops so much, it’s actually entertaining.”
“On one hand, he says he will never set foot in Saudi Arabia. The next day, he’s here signing multimillion-dollar deals.”
“I don’t think anyone here takes him seriously,” Abbas added.
He warned Graham to be careful what he wished for: “Do you really want Saudi Arabia involved in this war putting our oil facilities at risk or do you want us stabilizing the energy markets?”
Graham pressed further, warning that inaction would carry a price. “Hopefully Gulf Cooperation Council countries will get more involved as this fight is in their backyard. If you are not willing to use your military now, when are you willing to use it?”
“Hopefully this changes soon. If not, consequences will follow.”
Graham's remarks drew sharp criticism from Bannon and others including podcast host Megyn Kelly.
She questioned on X whether Graham was overstepping his authority as a senator, writing: “When did Lindsay Graham become our president?”
Kelly also said Graham had threatened Lebanon, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, the wider Arab region, and Spain within a 24-hour period.
The problem with Graham “isn’t (just) that he’s a homicidal maniac, it’s that Trump likes and is listening to him,” she said in another post.
