My question is going to be for Thomas, because it's about digital.

If you will allow me, as one of the only Brits in the room.

There is a Shakespeare line from one of his plays where he says a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

So when von der Leyen says a social media delay.

Just to clarify, you are talking about the social media age ban that we've been discussing.

I just want to make sure of that, because we had some colleagues who thought,

is this about controls that other countries have done of how long a child should be on social media and whatnot.

Then I also wanted to ask, in her speech, while she is correct to note the actions of the European Commission.

I would argue that perhaps After 2 years in the META, Facebook and Instagram, to prove that under 13s are still on, I mean, I could have told the Commission that,

so I'd like to question whether the European Commission really feels that it's doing enough or whether it feels it can do more. Thank you. Thanks Raz. Let's start with the first question.

When the president says that we must consider a social media delay,

I think the response were also given.

In the speech itself, so the president said it very clearly, children are not little adults,

and they need time to become resilient in this vulnerable phase.

So obviously we have a social media panel that is currently addressing the issue that will then prepare recommendations to.

The Commission and based on that and without preempting the final outcome of the panel, of course,

the president said that we could come up with a legal proposal by the summer.

So indeed you have quite some elements here but the the direction it's taking is quite clear from the speech, I believe.

On the second, indeed, the president was also very clear about enforcement.

And the president mentioned the DSA, the DMA, several enforcement cases,

and strong decisions that were already taken by the institution. Let me recall also one other part.

Of the speech where the president said very clearly, we have set rules.

It's the law,

and every company breaking the law will be held accountable because we're setting the rules and not big tech.

So yes, you can trust the Commission to enforce its legislation.

In terms of the timing, really, if you look at the various steps since the President set out the issue about access of children to social media in her last State of the Union last September,

and where she really put this subject at the very core of her political agenda for the year.

And from there, a number of very concrete actions took place,

starting with the setting up of this panel with experts that we've been listening to.

In the meantime, as you know,

there are many Member States who have also come up showing interest in looking into a social media ban for children of a certain age.

We have come up with the Age verification app, which is absolutely essential to bring forward any such ban,

and we're discussing the possibility of having action at EU level.

So I would say that really, if you look at it and how fast we've advanced, step by step, and now with the President confirming this morning indeed that we would look Into building on the results of this expert panel by the summer,

I consider that it is very good progress that has been done on a crucial topic that concerns today's society very much,

not just across the EU, but really worldwide. You had a follow up.

I guess from your answer, I think it's safe to say to ban or not to ban is still the question.

And on the TikTok thing, because in February, the European Commission told TikTok to change its addictive design.

Because of what you both said about how important, and the Commission President has also made it clear how important it is,

I'd ask you, considering it's been about 3 months, have you seen any changes?

Can you tell us anything about that, considering the seriousness of the issue? Thank you.

I'll address the second question because I believe we replied to the first one already.

On, on TikTok, you're forgetting an essential step here, Raas, which is the right of defense to a company.

We have come to a conclusion, it's a preliminary one.

We're currently very clear with TikTok what our findings are.

They now have the time to access our entire investigation file, and we have said this repeatedly from this podium.

We'll always follow due process and give companies time to defend themselves, but in the end, yes, we're having exchanges with the company.

We will see how they defend themselves and what they put on the table or not, and based on that, we'll come to a final conclusion.

So in that sense, 3 months is not a lot. Absolutely, yes.

Mr President, on this question, over the past few months we've seen a few terms being floated for bans EU digital majority, social media restrictions,

age gating, I can go on,

so could you precisely spell out what the Commission President mean this morning when she said delay?

Does that mean there's going to be a restriction ban or whatever?

New word we may see, then what would a legal proposal look like?

Is it a regulation, a directive, and if something is set for the summer, does that mean?

At the services level, there are already talks on this issue, because rarely we've seen the Commission write a legislative proposal in like 2 days,

looking at the timeline of the panel, which is the same time,

the summer or whatever the summer would mean.

Maybe a third question if I may, how does this influence rules that are already being debated at a national level?

Does that mean that those rules would not apply and then the EU rules would take precedence? Thank you. Should I go? Several questions indeed. Let's try to go one by one. Indeed, thanks, Anupriya. Let's start with the first one. Change of term, not change of term.

I don't believe you have heard the word, a ban today. Indeed. The president mentioned a delay.

Now, in the context, what has the president said today, there are of course a lot of benefits from kids, from staying connected to,

their friends, accessing information, so the president was clear on the fact that everything online is not bad, far from that.

But she was also extremely explicit and clear on the fact that the online world today presents risks from our citizens,

and we have to address them because precisely we have legislation in place.

So here, it's not just a matter of you should go, you should not go, it's a matter of indeed potentially delaying,

and again, let me prejudge and not prejudge the final outcome of the panel, it's a question.

Of time and when kids are sufficiently mature to access certain services, so yes, it is a question of a delay, here again,

you're referring to a potential legal proposal, and here again,

the president said it could take the form of a legal proposal in the summer.

Let's first see what the panel recommendation will be, at the beginning of the summer, if I'm not mistaken, the panel is convening in June.

Based on that, we'll have recommendations and the summer is ending on the 21st of September,

so this doesn't give us two days but almost three months to potentially work on that at services level.

So here I believe we have sufficient time and you can also read from the speech that time is of essence and we,

if we have to move on quickly, we will definitely do it.

How this would interplay, and I think this is your last question,

how this would interplay with potential national measures that are currently being implemented.

Whatever the final outcome will be on our side or at Member State level, we need to be able to enforce potential age restrictions like we see at Member State level,

and for this great news, as announced today again and already a month ago, we have developed a technical solution.

If you cannot prove your age to access the service, there's no way you enforce anything, be it at member state level or at at EU wide level.

And here again, we have the age verification app, it ticks all the boxes as set today, and we will take it from there. I think this addresses all your questions. Yes, please.

Thank you very much for taking my questions Anna from Agence Europe

I think that, you've been quite clear that then the ban is probably off the table.

I'd like to ask, in terms of the delay, how would you see it?

Would you see it more like as of the age of 13, what is the range or under 16s,

for example, because obviously we see also differences, between what the member states, are, are calling for.

Then two additional small questions, if I may, on the age verification app.

Could you let us know how many Member States have notified already to the Commission that they will use its Blueprint,

and what is the version currently available?

On your first question, again, you are anticipating or prejudging results, which the President explicitly excluded this morning by saying that we are not preempting the results of the findings of the panel and hence for the moment,

nothing is off the table and all options can be considered.

On the second, yes, indeed, nothing to add on that one.

On the 2nd, what do you consider the right age? It's a very good question.

It's a very, good question that maybe the panel may want to look at or not. Maybe it's being, the case.

So, here we may get feedback also from, that front.

Now, let me slightly jump into the territory of my colleague on the GDPR.

There you have a clear age limit for accessing.

Social media or online services with or with with parental control and that age has been set at 13,

so that's already one of the elements that already is formalized legally in the GDPR regulation.

Now, that being said, when you look at online platforms generally speaking, Most of them have, have set the minimum age at, at 13.

Now the question, and this is what we're addressing from a digital Services Act point of view, are the measures to enforce this strong enough or not? Other questions to Thomas. Yes, Senna.

Verification, how many member states have notified that they will use the blueprint in the digital wallets, and what's the, what's the current version that's available online? Thank you.

Yes, apologies, I forgot the last question on the blueprint. Yes, the recommendation was very clear.

The response to potential national measures that have been mentioned by several member states has to be a European one.

The solution, the response has to be a European harmonized solution,

and this is where the EU age verification app kicks in because we cannot allow for fragmentation of our market here in that regard,

7 member states are currently testing.

The aid verification app personalizing in order to offer it to their citizens.

The president was also clear on the fact that Denmark is advancing quickly on that.

That's one of the very good examples that I can give today.

For the other member states, the recommendation was clear either you embedded in your upcoming EID wallets or you allow for companies to offer a standalone app to,

your, citizens, so the solution has to be a European one. Yes, please. Thanks Jana Hemmersmeyer for AFP.

Germany's State Minister Wolfram Weimer today called for the 2nd time, I think,

for TikTok's European business to be placed in European hands.

Is that in any way something the Commission is looking into?

Or is the Commission looking into how that could even be done in Europe, because he said,

Europe should follow the US example I imagine a Europe that will work differently. Thanks.

We are not in the habit of commenting on comments.

What I can tell you is that Europe is and will continue to enforce its legislation.

We are not looking at the color of a company, at its ownership, at its country of origin.

What we are looking at is compliance, and that is what has to be achieved in any case in Europe.

You want access to 450 million citizens, you comply with our rules. And follow up.

Is the Commission happy with the way TikTok handles the data of its European users,

the storage, question, or is there discussions with TikTok ongoing on this?

Yes, so there are discussions with TikTok on various fronts.

What we can say we're happy with is the fact that definitely TikTok is one of the companies that is engaging, yes, absolutely, with the Commission, we have closed, for example, on the Digital Services Act,

several cases already with TikTok, so yes, there is engagement definitely,

we tackle a broad range of issues on various several different fronts, but yes, engagement is here and that's the most important. Yeah.

And the data storage, like, is the Commission happy with how TikTok use the data storage in Europe?

On data storage, I will not step too much on my colleague's shoes,

but I mean data protection and GDPR enforcement lies with the National Data Protection Authorities.

I mean, here again, this could be a question you could address directly to the national authorities who are responsible for the enforcement. Jen. Jabo Phali Bloomberg News.

I have two questions again on the ban.

The first one is whether Don't you think there is a risk that by expressing a clear preference for a possible action,

this might skew the panel's decision, the panel's recommendation?

I mean, if the panel essentially says that there's no need for any delay,

so to speak, this will end up being much ado about nothing.

So I wonder whether you think it was.

Correct to essentially suggest what the preferred course of action was.

The second is much more technical, and that's it.

Has the GConnect or any other part of the Commission started war gaming or drafting any potential final proposal?

What the President set out this morning and it was not the first time, is to really describe what is happening as we speak,

and she set out both the benefits, the huge benefits of social media, but also the risks.

So it's on this basis that we are operating, we are seeing the benefits, we are seeing the risks,

and the President mentioned a number of risks which come from the use and abuse, essentially.

Children of the social media, from sleep deprivation to attention deficit, you name it.

So on this basis, there are a number of options that are being looked at.

This is being done by the panel that has been set up, but it is clear that a number of risks that are there need to be tackled,

and so we will see what exactly will be the solution proposed by the Commission at the end of this process.

On Of the panel And then the Commission based on the work of the panel indeed.

And the second question on the second question to which you almost replied, Paula

is the Commission already working on a on a so-called draft or whatsoever?

I mean, no, the Commission is listening to member states.

The Commission is listening to the concerns of parents, educators, lawyers.

Whoever, you know, we're listening and we'll be listening to the panel.

That's why we have convened the panel,

that's why the panel will issue recommendations and I can guarantee you and tell you for sure that we will definitely follow and listen to the recommendation of the panel and then decide on potential next steps.

So, no work I can confirm today from this podium.

We will conclude on this topic so as to give other subjects a possibility today. Thank you. I'll try to be quick.

So basically you have chosen the panel because you have chosen the members of the panel that are changing, by the way, meeting after meeting.

You are not opening a normal consultation with the expert or,

or public consultation or whatever on this issue.

The President has made quite an important speech today saying the direction that she wants,

and You think that the panel will be enough independent not to follow the advice of the president,

the same member that you have taken.

Why are you choosing this type of procedure instead of a normal one on this issue? Second question.

Um Thomas, you have said that you you need to avoid the um fragmentation of the digital market.

How can you avoid the fragmentation of the digital market if Member States will impose As minimum age 16,

another 115, another 114, another 113.

What type of law will apply to whom,

since I can Be in a single space but coming from different member states with different nationalities and so on.

So The tool will not be able to avoid the fragmentation if you don't have,

harmonization on the age.

I, I'm, am I wrong on this thing?

On your first question, why has this process been chosen in words, in your words rather than the normal one? What is a normal one?

Before we take action, usually we proceeded by consultation. There are different types of consultations.

There are indeed, and you mentioned public consultation, there are consultations with experts.

This is a particular type of consultation,

which is part of several of the initiatives that preceded several of the.

The initiatives that the Commission comes up with.

It's one form of consultation, and it is a form of wide consultation in the sense that there are various groups that are represented there,

from the experts, the technical experts, also to parents, etc.

So it's one type of consultation, it's not I wouldn't say it's normal or different from normal,

it is one type of consultation where the Commission gathers expertise,

expert comments before coming up with a decision, before coming up with a possible proposal.

And then on harmonization of age, we're not there yet.

Exactly that depends on where we will land and what will it be that, the Commission will propose eventually.

But if I can maybe just, yes, add Paula, that I mean this is an extremely inclusive process.

I mean you will rarely find such an inclusive process. I mean everyone.

Across the board and you say to yourselves, the experts are changing because the topics are extremely complex and different,

so this is a very inclusive approach and guess what, on top of it, the red lines are turning on everywhere, basically on all fronts.

I think we all agree in this room that something has to be done to protect our kids beyond what we're already doing with the strong enforcement.

On the fragmentation of the law, precisely as, as, as Paula said, I will not preempt like the president said today,

we could come up with a legal proposal depending now on the input we're waiting from the panel,

so indeed we will try to avoid the fragmentation of the market and we'll do it.

Question online on a different topic,

and we haven't heard from you for a long time,

Are you there, Shinohara? Hi.