European regulators are reportedly granting themselves more authority to police Big Tech\u2019s consumer protection failures.<\/p>\n
As the Financial Times (FT) reported<\/a> Sunday (July 12), this comes as part of a larger push by the European Commission (EC) to increase social media protections.<\/p>\n According to the report, the EC is set to announce a proposal to boost online consumer protection before the year\u2019s end. The commission is also debating a social media ban for younger users, once it hears the findings of an expert panel due Monday (July 13).<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to make sure in the coming weeks that we have an overall coherent response to an issue that has really taken off\u2009\u2026\u2009not just [in] political circles but I think among the general public,\u201d said EU Justice Commissioner Michael McGrath.<\/p>\n The report noted that an increasing number of countries are considering online protections for children, including where social media<\/a> is concerned.<\/p>\n The U.K. recently announced a ban<\/a> on platforms like TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram for people under 16, while countries like France have announced measures to restrict access on a national level, the FT added.<\/p>\n The EC is due to propose digital fairness rules that would deal with things like the addictive design of websites and apps, subscription traps and other \u201cdark patterns\u201d<\/a> that entice people into spending money, the report said. These rules could complement other measures under consideration by the commission to limit children\u2019s access to social media.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no single silver bullet that will resolve all the issues, and I think we will need a set of measures that are working together,\u201d McGrath said. The digital fairness legislation is designed to address \u201cany remaining gaps in the area of consumer protection online\u201d focusing particularly on young people, he added.<\/p>\n \u201cChildren can be particularly impressionable and vulnerable. So we think protections need to be strengthened in that area, especially\u2009\u2026\u2009if there is an underlying commercial transaction there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, U.S. lawmakers last week overwhelmingly backed a bipartisan package of online child safety measures<\/a>. The KIDS Act establishes baseline federal standards designed to protect minors online while preserving states\u2019 ability to adopt stronger safeguards.<\/p>\n