Nord Europa Assembly Weighs Social Media Duty-of-Care Bill

The Civic Affairs and Youth Protection Committee met in closed session on Friday to review testimony from platform representatives and child psychologists on the question of whether social media sites employ design practices intended to hook young users. The hearing was called after a coalition of parent groups and educators submitted a petition in June requesting Assembly action on what they termed "algorithmic manipulation of children."

Platform representatives argued that engagement metrics reflect user choice rather than deliberate addiction design, and that the term "addiction" itself lacks clinical definition. The committee's chair, Assembly member Petra Novotná, indicated that the committee would not accept that framing. "We are not interested in semantic arguments," Novotná said in brief remarks after the session. "We are interested in whether a company knows its product is habit-forming and chooses not to disclose that fact to parents."

The proposed bill would require any platform with more than 100,000 Nord Europa users to file annual impact assessments detailing the design features that influence user behavior, with particular scrutiny on features targeting users under eighteen. Companies that fail to demonstrate adequate safeguards would face administrative fines. The committee is expected to circulate draft language by September.