Nations mull online age curbs

France, Spain and Greece are pushing for mandatory age restrictions for users of social networks including Meta Platforms Inc's Facebook and Elon Musk’s X, according to a document seen by Bloomberg.

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Digital services ministers from the three countries are coordinating on the proposal ahead of a meeting with their European Union counterparts on June 6, the document shows.

The new rules would make it mandatory for any device that can access the internet to include age verification technology.

“We need to protect our children,” French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday during an interview on French television.

“It's been shown that social networks have been clearly part of the cause of suffering and mental health problems.”

Governments around the world have been trying to impose restrictions on social media companies amid mounting evidence that they can damage the mental health of young people in particular.