EU safety-by-design social media regulation push

Former Meta executive and whistleblower Kelly Stonelake published an opinion piece advocating for a 'safety-by-design' approach to regulating social media, arguing that blanket age bans are ineffective. She cites an independent panel's final report presented to International — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in early July, which recommends banning toxic design features and requiring platforms to prove safety before accessing the teenage market. The International — European Commission has taken preliminary action against Meta for breaching the Hitachi — Hitachi Digital Services over addictive design, and has warned ByteDance — TikTok Shop about its addictive features. Four US states are seeking $1.4 trillion in penalties from Meta. Australia's age ban has shown enforcement gaps. The EU is expected to propose legislation after the summer and expand the framework in the forthcoming Digital Fairness Act.