Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission President, has demanded an urgent delay to children's access to social media platforms. The directive, issued this morning from Brussels, comes with immediate effect, pending a full regulatory review. This is a classic case of the nanny state in overdrive: a knee-jerk reaction that ignores the market's ability to self-correct.
Parents, not bureaucrats, should be the ones setting digital boundaries. The move will likely trigger capital flight from EU tech startups, as investors baulk at the uncertainty. Gilt yields across the bloc are already twitching, and this intervention will only exacerbate volatility.
Fiscal responsibility dictates that governments should focus on inflation and debt, not micromanaging children's screen time. The market efficiency argument is clear: let families decide, not central planners.
