The European Union is planning a wider crackdown on social media platforms. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Brussels wants to limit business models that make money from children’s attention.
Von der Leyen explained in Copenhagen that the EU is working on new rules to control how social media companies operate, aiming to protect children and young people. The move as a push against addictive features in apps like TikTok and Instagram.
Von der Leyen spoke in unusually clear terms. She said the harm social media causes to children and young people is not accidental, but “the result of business models that treat our children’s attention as a commodity.”
This way of framing the issue moves the debate from single moderation mistakes to the way platforms are designed.
TikTok, Meta and X are in the line of fire
Reuters said the Commission is specifically targeting TikTok, X, and Meta’s Instagram and Facebook. Von der Leyen said the EU is taking action against TikTok and its addictive design, endless scrolling, autoplay and push notifications.
She added that the same logic applies to Meta because the Commission believes Instagram and Facebook are failing to enforce their own minimum age of 13.
The EU’s worries go beyond scrolling and recommendation systems.
The Commission has begun proceedings against X for using its Grok artificial intelligence tool to create sexual images of women and children. This expands Brussels’ focus from youth addiction to include harms caused by AI.
Addictive design is becoming the real target
What stands out about this new effort is that the Commission is moving beyond just harmful content.
Reuters reported that later this year, Brussels will target addictive and harmful design practices like attention capture, complex contracts, subscription traps.
This means the next phase of EU tech rules may focus more on how platforms keep users hooked, not just on the content they show.
This approach matches a broader trend in Europe, where regulators are more willing to see interface design as a policy issue.
CNBC shared that earlier this year, the Commission said TikTok may have broken the Digital Services Act because of addictive design, including features like infinite scroll, autoplay, and push notifications.
A tougher question: who should have access to social media?
Von der Leyen also used her speech to support stricter age rules. She called for strict rules to ban social media for teenagers below a certain age. She summed up the issue with a strong statement: “The question is not whether young people should have access to social media, the question is whether social media should have access to young people.”
This shifts the policy debate beyond just following rules. Now, it’s about basic rights and responsibilities online. For social media companies, the risk is not just more investigations. Europe might start changing the rules for how young people can use these platforms.
A new phase in Europe’s platform fight
For TikTok, Meta, and X, the main risk now is more scrutiny and possibly stricter enforcement.
For the whole social media industry, the message is clear: Brussels no longer sees features like infinite scroll, autoplay, and push alerts as harmless. Instead, these are now viewed as design choices that can affect public health and child safety.
If this view becomes law, Europe’s next big conflict with social media may focus on how apps are built, not just on what content they show.
