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Politics533 outlets ran this3 min read

EU plans ban on social media for under-13s

Ursula von der Leyen announced proposals for the 'EU Kids Act' during her State of the Union address.

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published Updated
La presidente de la Comisi�n Europea, Ursula von der Leyen, habla durante el debate del Estado del Uni�n en el Parlamento Europeo.EFE

What this story says

  • The European Commission plans to propose a ban on social media for children under 13 years of age.
  • Children aged 13 to 15 will have restricted access, possibly through 'mini-accounts' supervised by parents.
  • European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the proposals during her State of the Union address.
  • The proposed legislation will be called the 'EU Kids Act'.

Who covered it

Left 35%(67)Centre 36%(70)Right 29%(56)

Percentages are shares of the 193 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 340 of the 533 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

42/100

Craft

61/100

Hype

41/100

533 sources · methodology

Missing from the left

Only 67 of the 193 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.

A reader who follows the left would not have seen this. We report the absence rather than explain it: outlets choose what to cover for many reasons, and we have no evidence about which one applies here.

The European Commission intends to propose a ban on social media for children under 13 years of age. For those between 13 and 15, access will be restricted, potentially through 'mini-accounts' that require parental supervision. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced these proposals during her State of the Union address. The legislation is to be known as the 'EU Kids Act'.

Coverage

Omissions

None of the centre-rated reports covered this story. None of the left-rated digests mentioned the specific case of Olà, a 14-year-old Belgian girl who died by suicide, which was cited by El Mundo as a reason for the proposed legislation.

Tags:#EU#SocialMedia#ChildrensRights#DigitalPolicy#UrsulaVonDerLeyen

Coverage settled. We checked this 9 times and stopped on 21 Sept 2026, 18:45. The figures above are what it finished at.

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

67 rated outlets

  • The left-rated digests reported that the European Commission plans to ban social media for children under 13. Several also noted proposals for restrictions on those aged 13 to 15. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the plan.
  • The digests mentioned that the proposed ban would also cover online games and AI chatbots. Some reports stated the plan is part of an EU Kids Act. The aim is to protect young people from online harm.
  • The digests quoted Ursula von der Leyen saying "We do not have to accept that children are drawn into increasingly extreme content." The reports did not mention any specific cost estimates for the proposed measures.

Centre

70 rated outlets

  • The centre‑rated digests from KIFI, KRDO, KVIA, Bloomberg, Washington Top News and PerthNow led on the EU’s proposal to prohibit social‑media use for children younger than 13 and to introduce tighter rules for older minors. They all cite European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s Wednesday announcement and note the aim of protecting children.
  • Other centre digests, such as those from South China Morning Post, Channel News Asia, RTÉ, IOL, Eesti Rahvusringhääling and Jornal Expresso, added that the plan would extend restrictions to under‑15s, include AI chatbots and online games, and stress a ‘safe‑by‑design’ approach. None of the digests mentioned a cost estimate, an implementation timetable or any dissenting views.

Right

56 rated outlets

  • The right-rated reports focused on the proposed ban for children under 13 and restricted access for those up to 15. Seven reports mentioned Ursula von der Leyen's announcement during the State of the Union address. One report stated that the EU wants to ban social networks for children under 13 years of age and limit them to 15 years of age. Another report included a quote from von der Leyen: 'No social networks under the age of 13'.

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover EU plans ban on social media for under-13s?
Of the 193 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 35% are rated left, 36% are rated centre, 29% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 533. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is EU plans ban on social media for under-13s left or right?
Neither side dominates it. Of the 193 rated outlets on this story, 35% are rated left, 36% are rated centre, 29% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
Is the coverage of EU plans ban on social media for under-13s biased?
EU plans ban on social media for under-13s is one event reported by 533 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which side is not reporting EU plans ban on social media for under-13s?
When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
Which outlets covered EU plans ban on social media for under-13s?
533 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
What is the EU proposing regarding social media for children?
The European Commission plans to propose a ban on social media for children under 13. Those aged 13 to 15 would have restricted access, potentially through 'mini-accounts' supervised by parents. The legislation is to be known as the 'EU Kids Act'.
Who announced these proposals?
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced these proposals during her State of the Union address. She stated that the EU must act to protect children from the risks associated with social media.
What is the 'EU Kids Act'?
The 'EU Kids Act' is the proposed name for the new legislation aimed at restricting children's access to social media. It will establish age limits and specific access rules for different age groups.

Read it at the source

539 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

67
Show 59 more

Centre

70
Show 62 more

Right

57
Show 49 more

Not rated

345
Show 337 more

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

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