BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen warned on Tuesday it was “time for change” on children’s access to social media as a new survey showed their exposure to violence, hate speech and other harmful content online.

After Australia became the first country in the world to ban social media for children under 16, a move emulated this week by Britain, the 27-nation European Union (EU) is exploring a similar step.

Von der Leyen tasked an expert panel to study what action the EU should take to protect minors online after member states including France pushed for a ban.

The panel, including medical professionals and parents’ representatives, met for the last time on Tuesday and will deliver its recommendations on July 13.

“Young people are confronted with problematic content online — from hate speech, to body pressure, to unexpected violence — it is a clear signal that it is time for change,” von der Leyen said in a statement.

The European Commission chief has previously indicated her personal support for limiting children’s access to social media, and said there could be a legal proposal in the summer.

The commission, which acts as the EU’s digital watchdog, published a survey Tuesday revealing what it termed “excessive” screen and social media use by teenagers aged 13 to 18.

Nearly one in three teenagers explicitly reported feeling stressed, sad or socially excluded because of social media, the survey found.

It also showed a quarter of adolescents are confronted by hate speech, and almost as many see content that puts pressure to look a certain way or follow certain body standards, described as examples of “harmful or distressing content”.

On Monday, United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that children under 16 will be banned from using social media, saying such platforms were making youngsters “unhappy”.

Some children’s charities welcomed the sweeping change, which is likely to trigger a major fight with United States tech giants, but others warned it could make teenagers less safe online.

Starmer, likely to face a leadership challenge in the coming weeks, said social media sites were exposing children to content that is “dangerous” and “designed to be addictive”.

The ban will “include platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X” but not messaging services such as WhatsApp, the government said.

Young people gave a mixed response.

“I think it’s a good thing, to be honest, because I don’t even remember what age I was when I got Instagram, but it was just way too early,” student Connie Skitt, 19, told AFP in Buxton, central England.

“You’re making friends with people you don’t know. It’s like, not that safe.”

But 18-year-old tour guide Tom Warvell expressed concerns that 16 was “a little bit high”, arguing younger teens were “a better age to focus on”.

“Times have changed so it is important for people to still be able to use it,” he said.