The European Union could announce a ban on social media for children in the coming weeks, Ursula von der Leyen has said. The Telegraph has the story.

France is set to be the first EU country to follow Australia, which has a minimum age of 16, in outlawing the technology for children in September. It plans to stop children under 15 using the services.

Brussels could now propose legislation for an EU-wide ban sooner than that, after a panel of experts finishes deliberating online child safety, von der Leyen said.

“I believe we must consider a social media delay,” the European Commission President said at a conference in Copenhagen.

“Depending on the results, we could come up with a legal proposal this summer,” she said on Tuesday.

She praised Australia for its ban and added: “We are witnessing the lightning speed at which technology is advancing – and how it penetrates every corner of childhood and adolescence.

“Childhood and early adolescence are formative years, and I believe we should give our children more time to become resilient in this vulnerable phase.”

An EU-wide ban would risk angering Donald Trump, who already views EU regulation of US tech giants as disproportionate, protectionist and an attack on free speech.

The President has threatened to hit the EU with tariffs while Washington is lobbying Brussels and London to water down its tech regulation.

Spain, Germany, Ireland, Denmark and Greece are considering their own versions of a ban pioneered by Australia last December.

Worth reading in full.