European countries are taking their broadest swipe yet at social media, with a growing number weighing bans of the services for minors and setting the stage for a new showdown with some of the biggest U.S. companies.
The policy was first implemented in Australia, encompassing Meta¡¯s Instagram and Facebook, Snap, Elon Musk¡¯s X, TikTok and Google¡¯s YouTube. Now it¡¯s catching on in Europe, threatening to cut off access to millions of young users from services regulators call harmful and addictive ¡ª and the critical advertising dollars that come with them.
It took a pointedly political, ideological and personal turn on Tuesday. Spain became the latest country to propose a ban on services, with its Socialist leader criticizing the behavior of social media companies in a speech. Musk, who saw his X offices in Paris raided earlier in the day, took the fight public.
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