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Written by
EU Affairs Team
10th September, 2025

European Commission President recommits to putting children’s online safety above profits

Von der Leyen’s State of the Union delivers what 5Rights and partners demanded for children’s rights online in yesterday’s coalition letter.

For years, 5Rights has warned that children are being systemically exploited by platforms designed to create addiction and maximise engagement at any cost. Today, President von der Leyen once again validated our concerns and delivered on the important demand made in our recent letter: confirmation that, despite record external pressure, the EU will stand by children and uphold their rights in the face of corporate exploitation.

The President’s stark assessment laid bare the reality we’ve been documenting: algorithms are “preying on children’s vulnerabilities with the explicit purpose of creating addictions”, while children face “online bullying, adult content, and self-harm promotion” simply by scrolling on their phones.

Parents, she recognises, feel “powerless and helpless”, “drowning against the tsunami of Big Tech flooding their family homes”. Europe, she says, believes that “parents, not algorithms, should be raising children”.

““Von der Leyen is saying very clearly that enough is enough, and the EU will use every tool at its disposal to ensure children are no longer at the mercy of tech profits. We look forward to supporting the Commission as it uses the tools already at its disposal – notably the DSA and the AI Act – to enforce corporate accountability for children’s rights, and to work out what more needs to be done.”

Leanda Barrington-Leach, Executive Director at 5Rights

5Rights warmly welcomes this affirmation that children’s online safety is non-negotiable in the EU and supports the President’s ambition to allow parents to reclaim their rightful stewardship role in children’s lives. For this, tackling the erosion of agency caused by exploitative algorithms and manipulative corporate practices is critical. We need to put children, their parents and communities, back in the driving seat.