Brussels is preparing a new legislative push against social media features that keep children online for longer, with TikTok, Meta and X among the platforms likely to face closer scrutiny under the forthcoming Digital Fairness Act.
The European Union is preparing new rules aimed at protecting children from social media design features that regulators say can encourage compulsive use, intensifying Brussels’ wider campaign to curb the power of large online platforms.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday that the bloc would target “addictive and harmful design practices” as part of the planned Digital Fairness Act, a legislative proposal expected towards the end of 2026. Speaking at a conference in Copenhagen, she placed child protection at the centre of the Commission’s next phase of digital regulation, with Reuters reporting that TikTok, Meta and X are among the platforms likely to come under renewed scrutiny.
The initiative is expected to focus not only on the content children encounter online, but also on the architecture of major platforms. Regulators are examining features such as infinite scrolling, algorithmic feeds, autoplay, notifications, attention-capturing prompts, personalised recommendations and other mechanisms designed to maximise engagement.
Von der Leyen framed the issue as one of access in both directions. The central question, she said, was not simply whether young people should have access to social media, but whether social media companies should have access to young people. In her Copenhagen speech, she cited risks including sleep disruption, depression, anxiety, self-harm, addictive behaviour, cyberbullying, grooming, exploitation and suicide.
The Digital Fairness Act is intended to address gaps in existing consumer protection rules by targeting dark patterns, influencer marketing, addictive design, unfair personalisation and practices that exploit consumer vulnerabilities. The European Parliament’s legislative tracker says the proposal is expected to focus on problems including deceptive or addictive interface design, personalised practices that exploit vulnerabilities, difficulties with cancelling or renewing digital subscriptions, and unfair contract terms.
The measure would sit alongside the EU’s existing Digital Services Act, which already requires very large online platforms to assess and mitigate systemic risks, including risks to minors. The DSA has given the Commission direct supervisory powers over the largest platforms operating in the EU and allows fines of up to 6 per cent of global annual turnover for serious breaches.
Several investigations under the DSA have already placed major social media companies under pressure. The European Parliament’s research service noted this month that the Commission had preliminarily found TikTok in breach of the DSA over addictive design features, including infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications and highly personalised recommender systems. Meta and X have also faced EU scrutiny over issues including child protection, transparency, advertising practices and risk management.
The forthcoming legislation would therefore not replace the DSA, but would add a more specific consumer protection layer dealing with platform design and commercial practices. It would also broaden the regulatory debate from illegal content and systemic risk to the commercial incentives that shape how digital services are built and used.
Age verification is likely to be one of the most difficult parts of the debate. EU officials and national governments are examining technical systems that could help platforms verify whether users are old enough to access particular services or content. Von der Leyen also signalled that discussion of a minimum age for social media could no longer be avoided, with Euronews reporting that the Commission could present plans linked to minors’ social media access as early as this summer.
The issue has gained political momentum across Europe. The European Parliament has already called for stronger action to make online services safer for minors, including faster enforcement of the DSA and a ban on harmful practices such as addictive design and gambling-like features in games, according to its October 2025 position. Australia’s decision to legislate for a social media ban for users under 16 has also influenced the European debate, although any EU-wide measure would need to be reconciled with national competences, data protection law and technical feasibility.
Technology companies are expected to argue that the EU already has a dense digital rulebook and that further legislation risks duplication. Industry groups have urged the Commission to focus on enforcement, legal certainty and regulatory coherence rather than creating overlapping obligations, with the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU calling for digital fairness through simplification.
However, the Commission appears to be moving towards a broader interpretation of online consumer protection. The Digital Fairness Act is expected to cover not only children’s use of social media, but also subscription traps, manipulative interfaces, complex contractual terms, misleading influencer marketing and unfair personalisation.
For platforms, the implications could be significant. A ban or restriction on addictive design features would affect core engagement models that support advertising revenue. It could also require changes to recommender systems, default settings, notification systems, age-assurance processes and the way platforms measure and optimise user attention.
For Brussels, the proposal forms part of a wider regulatory sequence that has included the Digital Services Act, the Digital Markets Act and the AI Act. The Commission is seeking to position the EU as a jurisdiction where large technology companies can operate, but only under rules that give regulators clearer powers over business models considered harmful to consumers or vulnerable users.
The details of the Digital Fairness Act have not yet been tabled. The coming months are likely to determine whether the Commission pursues a targeted law against specific practices, a wider consumer protection instrument, or a framework that also allows age-based restrictions on social media access. What is already clear is that child protection is becoming one of the main arguments for further EU intervention in the design and commercial logic of online platforms.
