European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is expected to announce proposals for an EU-wide social media ban for children during her annual State of the Union address in Strasbourg on September 16, multiple EU officials and diplomats told Euractiv.

The move would be Brussels' clearest political commitment yet to bloc-wide age restrictions on social media, following months of pressure from national governments to strengthen protections for minors online. According to Euractiv's reporting, one national representative said Commission officials have already told governments to expect an announcement in September.

The hard parts remain unresolved. A Commission official cautioned that the legal framework has not been decided, and it is unclear what minimum age would apply or how restrictions would be enforced. Member states have floated approaches ranging from mandatory parental consent to outright bans backed by age-verification technology.

An EU official familiar with von der Leyen's thinking said an announcement could come in the speech, but noted that the independent expert panel she established to examine online child protection has not yet published its recommendations, which are expected on July 13. Until then, the official said, the political direction and next steps cannot be predicted. In other words, the reported September plan is currently running ahead of the advice meant to shape it.

65 million children

The timing is driven by fragmentation as much as by child safety. France, Spain, Germany, Denmark, and Greece have all pressed ahead with national restrictions on children's social media access, and sources say the Commission wants EU-wide rules in place before those national laws diverge too sharply to reconcile within the single market. Ireland, which holds the rotating Council presidency, has been pushing for a common European approach to age verification, with Taoiseach Micheál Martin pointing to strong momentum for an EU-level position.

The international precedents are already in force. Australia's world-first law requiring major platforms to keep under-16s off their services took effect in December 2025, and von der Leyen has repeatedly cited it as a model. Indonesia followed with its own under-16 restriction in March, and the UK has announced plans for a similar ban expected to take effect in spring 2027.

An EU version would operate at a different scale entirely, covering roughly 65 million children under 15 across 27 countries, according to earlier reporting on the proposal's scope.