BRUSSELS (AP) — A top European Union official on Monday called for limits to be placed on children using social media as a special EU panel looking into the challenge recommended forbidding access for those under 13 until tech companies can prove their platforms are safe.
Growing awareness of the dangers social media poses for young, developing brains has shown up in a wave of new restrictions globally. Australia, the U.K., Turkey, Indonesia and others have passed bans on kids under 16 or 15 from using platforms like TikTok, YouTube and Instagram.
Laying out a list of her concerns about the use of social media by kids, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen — a doctor by training — said that children under 3 should have no exposure to screens at all.
“I believe we need to consider phased and gradual access for different age ranges because childhood won’t wait and once it’s gone, we can never give it back,” von der Leyen told reporters.
“Just as we don’t give our children keys to the car before they have their license, or we do not let them buy alcohol until they are legally allowed. We need to set the age at which they can, the children can, legally access social media,” she said.
Von der Leyen noted infinite scrolling as one of the “addictive” traits that tech companies must address.
Beyond toddlers, she did not mention any precise restrictions, but she and the European Commission — the EU’s powerful executive branch — are likely to come up with a proposal for the 27 member countries to weigh in the near future. Von der Leyen’s policy proposals carry great influence with EU member countries.
A special panel set up to study child safety online delivered its report to the EU chief on Monday. The report said that when it comes to safety, “the burden of proof needs to be on providers, not regulators, parents and children.”
“Until they demonstrate that their services are safe by design, social media and other digital services providers should have restricted access to children under the age of 13 in the EU,” said the report, which is likely to influence von der Leyen's thinking.
It recommended that “further precautionary age restrictions” should be considered by EU countries for children over 13.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, center, poses with co-chairs of the Special Panel Maria Melchior, right, and Jörg M. Fegert during a report on children's safety online at EU headquarters in Brussels, Monday, July 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Marius Burgelman)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks during a report on children's safety online at EU headquarters in Brussels, Monday, July 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Marius Burgelman)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Thai authorities are investigating a Bangkok bar fire that killed at least 27 people and injured dozens more, the latest in a long history of catastrophic fires at bars, clubs, and other nightlife venues worldwide.
Experts say the high death toll may reflect factors common to past entertainment venue fires, including inadequate safety measures. The blaze, which broke out shortly before midnight Sunday, apparently spread rapidly across a ceiling lined with flammable decorative materials before reaching the main entrance. Local media suggest crowded conditions, obstructed escape routes, and panic may have hampered evacuation.
Here’s what to know about the fire:
Videos shared online by witnesses show a blaze engulfing the Na Ladprao music bar as thick black smoke pours from the front entrance and people scramble to flee. Photos and videos from the scene Monday showed Thai investigators examining the gutted building, where the heaviest damage appeared to be overhead. Large sections of the ceiling were destroyed, blackened and charred, while the floor and tables below, some still with beer bottles on them, were blanketed in ash and debris.
Thailand Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said a musician performing at the bar told him he saw smoke coming from a circuit breaker near the stage before the power went out. An explosion was then heard and thick smoke quickly filled the bar.
Thai officials said investigators would examine the ceiling materials and whether any emergency exits were obstructed, potentially hindering evacuation. A Google image from February shows what appeared to be plastic plants in the ceiling above the stage.
Lee Young Ju, a fire safety professor at South Korea’s Kyungil University, said the fire may have been caused by an electrical fault, possibly involving audio or lighting equipment or faulty wiring, sparking a blaze that quickly spread across the ceiling.
Aside from examining whether flammable materials were used in the interior and how electrical wiring was installed overhead, police are also investigating whether gas canisters were stored in the kitchen and whether they contributed to the blaze, Royal Thai Police chief Kittharath Punpetch said.
Huang Xinyan, a professor at Hong Kong’s Polytechnic University, said footage of the fire site suggests the bar contained combustible foam materials, lacked a sprinkler system and had small exits that may have hampered evacuation. He added that plastic decorations on the ceiling may have been combined with combustible foam soundproofing materials, potentially fueling the fire’s rapid spread.
While the bar may have fallen short of safety standards, Lee said it’s unclear whether sprinklers would have slowed the blaze if it spread across the ceiling, as they are not designed to extinguish fires burning overhead.
The fire is the latest in a string of deadly blazes at entertainment venues around the world, a recurring type of disaster that has killed hundreds of people over the years. In the early hours of New Year's Day, a fire tore through a bar in the Swiss ski resort town of Crans-Montana, killing about 40 people and injuring more than 100. A 2013 fire at the Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria, southern Brazil, killed more than 200.
Huang said the Bangkok fire may resemble the fire in Switzerland, noting that such venues tend to have large amounts of flammable soundproofing materials and overcrowded conditions which contribute to the high number of casualties.
Lee said the large fatalities in entertainment venue fires often stem from large crowds packed into relatively small spaces, making quick evacuation difficult. Such venues frequently lack sufficient exits, and most patrons are familiar only with the main entrance they used to enter, while loud music and alcohol can leave them less aware and slower to respond when an emergency strikes, he said.
Jiang Liming, another professor at Hong Kong’s Polytechnic University, noted that pubs typically lack large glass windows and the exits may be blocked by panicked people when there’s a fire.
“Once there was a rapidly growing fire, large (numbers) of casualties might occur due to high density of people and fast accumulation of smoke,” Jiang said.
Kong Ha-song, a disaster prevention professor at South Korea’s Woosuk University, said death tolls in bar and nightclub fires are often worsened because the venues can resemble a “maze,” with beer crates, tables and other obstacles blocking hallways and escape routes, while emergency exits are sometimes kept locked to prevent unauthorized entry or theft.
Kittharath, the Thai police chief, said the single-story bar had four exits, but police were examining whether the two rear exits were blocked or unusable. One exit near the restrooms, where most of the victims were found, had a table blocking the way, while another near the kitchen had a damaged exit sign and a sliding door missing its handle.
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Leung reported from Hong Kong. AP writer Jintamas Saksornchai contributed from Bangkok.
A forensic police officer leaves the site of a fire in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, July 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
In this handout photo released by Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, forensic police officers inspect the site of a fire in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, July 13, 2026. (Bangkok Metropolitan Administration via AP)
One of relatives of fire victims, front, leaves the Institute of Forensic Police hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, July 13, 2026, following a fire at a beer hall. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
In this handout photo released by Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, forensic police officers inspect the site of a fire in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, July 13, 2026. (Bangkok Metropolitan Administration via AP)
In this handout photo released by Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, the interior of a beer bar is seen after a fire in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, July 13, 2026. (Bangkok Metropolitan Administration via AP)
