The European Union is working on new rules to protect children from what it describes as addictive design features on social media platforms such as TikTok, Meta and X, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday.
Speaking in Copenhagen, von der Leyen linked the issue to risks including sleep deprivation, depression, anxiety, self-harm, cyberbullying, grooming, exploitation and suicide. She said the bloc is considering a broader response to the way social platforms are built and used by younger audiences.
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Scrolling through perfect feeds can make your #BlueMonday even bluer.
— Digital EU 🇪🇺 (@DigitalEU) January 19, 2026
Infinite scroll and autoplay keep us glued online and affect our mental health.
The Digital Services Act now requires big platforms to tackle these addictive features.#DSA: https://t.co/saKtqRtQ26 pic.twitter.com/RburFxYGL3
Brussels plans crackdown on ‘manipulative’ platform design
Von der Leyen said the Commission will target “addictive and harmful design practices” in its planned Digital Fairness Act, which is expected to be proposed towards the end of the year.
She said the measure would ban manipulative practices, addictive features and misleading influencer marketing on digital platforms. The Commission president also argued that the problem stems from business models that treat children’s attention as a commodity, and said the EU wants strict limits on the use of artificial intelligence in social media.
The EU is moving to regulate social media design itself - not the content, the product mechanics. Infinite scroll, algorithmic feeds, autoplay, and push notifications are all on the table. The premise is that these design patterns are addictive by design and that users cannot…
— Zen Master Trades (@ZenMasterTrades) May 12, 2026
Infinite scroll, autoplay under fresh EU scrutiny
The Commission may also propose a minimum age for platform access this summer, von der Leyen said.
In remarks quoted by Reuters, she said the EU is taking action against TikTok’s “addictive design,” including endless scrolling, autoplay and push notifications. She added that the same concerns apply to Meta, saying Instagram and Facebook are failing to enforce their own minimum age of 13.
Reuters said representatives of TikTok, Meta and X did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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New proposal could expand Europe’s digital safety rules
The planned Digital Fairness Act would strengthen and expand the EU’s existing Digital Services Act, under which the Commission is already investigating TikTok, X, Instagram and Facebook over harmful content and age-verification concerns.
The wider move reflects Europe’s increasingly hard line on teen social media use, with countries including Norway, France, Turkey and Britain debating or introducing limits of their own.
The new push adds to months of scrutiny on the design of major social platforms and the extent to which their recommendation systems and interface features shape user behaviour, particularly among minors.
