EU chief says ‘time for change’ on children’s social media access

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen warned on Tuesday it was “time for change” on children’s access to social media as a new survey showed their exposure to violence, hate speech and other harmful content online.

After Australia became the first country in the world to ban social media for children under 16, a move emulated this week by Britain, the 27-nation European Union is exploring a similar step.

Von der Leyen tasked an expert panel to study what action the EU should take to protect minors online after member states including France pushed for a ban.