One in five European children report mental health problems, and those on social media three hours a day show roughly double the rates of anxiety and depression. Social media is clearly not good for our children.

At the State of the Union this week, von der Leyen finally announced the EU Kids Act: no social media under 13, and parent-chaperoned "mini accounts" to 15.

For older teens, it also promises "safe design." And that raises a bigger question: shouldn't those default protections shield the rest of us too? Because we're dealing with the consequences of these platforms as well – we lose sleep, lose more than 30 days a year on average to scrolling, and carry higher rates of anxiety and depression due to these platforms.

So how does the EU's new approach line up with that reality? Is it helping the kids, all of us, or neither?

To find out, Samuel sits down with Jean Cattan, former Secretary-General of France's Conseil national du numérique, who was advising the French government at the exact moment its own bid to bar under-15s collapsed. He has since become one of the sharpest voices in Europe arguing that the whole age-limit debate misses the bigger picture.

Comments, concerns or suggestions: samuel.dempsey@europeancorrespondent.com

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