EU chief backs calls to keep children off social media

United Nations, United States: EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday threw her support behind growing calls to ban social media use for children,...

United Nations, United States: EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday threw her support behind growing calls to ban social media use for children, promising to weigh action at the European level in coming months.

"Many member states believe the time has come for a 'digital majority age' for access to social media," the European Commission head told an event on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

"I must tell you as a mother of seven children, and grandmother of five, I share their view," she told the gathering in New York.

Von der Leyen was speaking alongside Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, whose country is at the forefront of global efforts to curb internet harms -- with its social media ban on under-16s a world-first.

Von der Leyen said she would establish a panel of experts and talk to parents, teachers and young people "to assess what steps make sense" at the EU level.