Children under 13 could soon face a sweeping digital age barrier across the European Union, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposing restrictions on their access to social media, online games and chatbots.

Unveiling the proposal during her annual State of the European Union address in Strasbourg on Wednesday, von der Leyen argued that Europe should not simply accept the way major technology platforms are designed to keep young users engaged.

She said children should not be exposed to addictive features, increasingly extreme content or the misuse of their images to create AI-generated sexualised material.

Under the proposed framework, children aged 13 to 15 could instead be allowed to use "mini accounts" supervised by their parents or guardians.

The proposal now moves into discussions and voting among the EU's 27 member states.

The plan builds on von der Leyen's earlier push for a more gradual introduction of children to social media.

The European Commission has been examining age restrictions as part of a broader effort to strengthen protections for minors online.

An EU expert panel has also warned about the impact of excessive screen time and social media on young people.

The proposed restrictions could also add another layer to the EU's already tense relationship with major US technology companies.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticised Europe's approach to regulating the technology sector.

The debate is not limited to Brussels. Australia and New Zealand have moved towards restricting young teenagers' access to social media, while European countries have been pursuing their own measures.

France's attempt to ban social media access for children under 15, however, was struck down by the country's top court last month on fundamental-freedoms grounds, prompting President Emmanuel Macron to say the proposal would be reworked.

The EU is also grappling with a separate question: how to make age restrictions work without creating new privacy concerns.

The Commission has been working on age-verification tools as part of its broader child-safety efforts.

The issue has become increasingly urgent for European regulators as concerns grow over how platforms handle minors. Last month, the European Commission issued preliminary findings that TikTok was failing to provide adequate safeguards for minors' accounts under the bloc's Digital Services Act.

The political debate is also widening beyond age limits. Manfried Weber, leader of the largest political group in the European Parliament, called for users to be given the ability to switch off social media algorithms, pointing to Australia's approach.

For the EU, the proposed under-13 restriction marks another step in a broader attempt to reshape how children encounter the digital world, from social feeds and gaming platforms to rapidly developing AI tools.