Move to Ban Social Media for Kids Gains Traction in Europe (1)

European countries are taking their broadest swipe yet at social media, with a growing number weighing bans of the services for minors and setting the stage for a new showdown with some of the biggest US companies.

The policy was first implemented in Australia, encompassing Meta Platforms Inc.’s Instagram and Facebook, Snap Inc., Elon Musk’s X, TikTok and Google’s YouTube. Now it’s catching on in Europe, threatening to cut off access to millions of young users from services regulators call harmful and addictive — and the critical advertising dollars that come with them.

Elon Musk during the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.

Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg

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