The European Union is preparing new regulations targeting addictive social media features, as mounting pressure from member states drives efforts to strengthen online protections for children.

The European Commission is expected to unveil the measures as early as this summer, following a wave of national initiatives aimed at limiting minors’ exposure to social media platforms.

Speaking at the Summit on Artificial Intelligence and Children in Denmark on Tuesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Brussels would move against what she described as “addictive and harmful design practices” used by major platforms.

The proposed crackdown will focus on features including endless scrolling, autoplay functions and push notifications, which regulators argue are designed to maximize user engagement, particularly among younger audiences.

“We are taking action against TikTok and its addictive design, endless scrolling, autoplay and push notifications,” von der Leyen said. “The same applies to Meta, because we believe Instagram and Facebook are failing to enforce their own minimum age of 13.”

Von der Leyen also confirmed that the Commission has opened proceedings against X over the alleged misuse of its Grok artificial intelligence tool to generate sexualized images involving women and children.

“Sleep deprivation, depression, anxiety, self-harm, addictive behavior, cyberbullying, grooming, exploitation, suicide; risks are multiplying fast,” she said. “These risks are the reality of the digital world. They are not accidental. They are the result of business models that treat our children’s attention as a commodity.”

She added that EU authorities would investigate platforms accused of drawing children into “black holes” of harmful content, including videos promoting eating disorders and self-harm.

The Commission’s plans come as several EU countries pursue stricter national rules. Last month, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced that Greece intends to ban social media access for children under 15 beginning January 1, 2027.

Greece’s Digital Governance Minister Dimitris Papastergiou said last week that a draft bill has already been submitted to the EU for compatibility review and is expected to pass through the Greek Parliament before lawmakers break for the summer.

According to Reuters, representatives from TikTok, Meta and X did not respond to requests for comment.