Wire · regulatory
EU Sets Out Plans For Social Media Restrictions
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Fusion42 · 16 July 2026 · Fusion42 review
The EU Commission will propose a bloc-wide minimum age for social media access after summer, including a potential harmonised delay for under-13s and gradual access thereafter contingent on platforms proving age-appropriateness and safety. The Commission is developing an age-verification app and separately enforcing Digital Services Act provisions against addictive design features like infinite scroll and algorithmic personalisation.
This Wire brief sits within Fusion42's coverage of Consumer Apps and Social & Community.
◆ ◆ The Wire takeaway
If you build social products for Europe, you now have a hard regulatory deadline: prove your platform is safe for teenagers or lose under-16 users entirely. The age-verification app being built by the Commission means you cannot rely on self-policing, and your product design—infinite scroll, autoplay, algorithmic feeds—is now a compliance liability, not a feature.
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1 source · 15 Jul 2026
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