The European Commission has proposed new rules aimed at limiting children's access to social media and requiring online services to put stronger safeguards in place for minors.
Known as the EU KIDS Act -- or “EU Keeping Internet Digital Spaces Accountable and Trustworthy” -- the proposal would introduce a gradual approach to children's access to social media, set common age thresholds across the bloc and place greater responsibility on technology companies to demonstrate that their services are safe for children.
Here's what the proposal would mean in practice:
The proposal does not impose one blanket ban on all internet use by children under a certain age. Instead, it establishes different rules depending on their age.
Children aged 3 to under 13 will not be allowed to access social media services.
However, they will still be able to use specially designed, child-friendly video-sharing services through accounts managed by their parents or guardians.
Platforms offering these services will have to provide parents with an easy-to-use tool that restricts an adult's device to child-friendly services when it is handed to a child. The child's exposure will also be limited to one hour per day.
Children aged 13 and 14 will not be able to create their own independent social media accounts.
Instead, parents or guardians will be able to create “mini accounts” through their own accounts, allowing children to access age-appropriate social media and video-sharing services under parental control.
The mini accounts will have additional safeguards, including limited social contacts and screen time limited to one hour per day.
At the age of 15, minors will be able to create their own social media accounts without requiring a parent or guardian to manage them.
The proposal therefore sets 15 as the EU-wide minimum age for creating an independent social media account.
It seeks to create a gradual transition from supervised and restricted online access to independent social media use.
The KIDS Act imposes a separate set of obligations on online services offering social media, video-sharing platforms, online video games, AI companions and chatbots to users under 18.
The Commission calls this approach “safety by design,” meaning that services should incorporate safeguards for minors from the outset rather than addressing risks only after harm has occurred.
Platforms will be prohibited from using addictive features and profile-based recommender feeds that can draw minors into “rabbit holes” of harmful content.
The proposal specifically targets several design features commonly used to keep users engaged. These include infinite scrolling without stopping points, reward-based tricks and push notifications during sleeping hours.
Platforms will also have to prevent unsolicited contact between minors and strangers.
Minors profiles will be private by default. Geolocation, camera and microphone access will also be switched off by default.
Children will have to be given simple tools to block and mute other users, as well as effective screen-time management tools.
Recommendation systems will also have to be made safer, with minors able to control, adjust and reset the recommendations they receive.
The proposal further extends its child-safety requirements to AI companions and chatbots.
Such services will have to be turned off by default for minors. They will also be prohibited from simulating interpersonal relationships in ways that could create emotional dependence.
Age verification is another major element of the proposal.
Online services and app stores will be required to use age-assurance tools. The European Commission has proposed an EU age-verification app that does not retain identity documents or biometric data.
The system is intended to verify whether users meet age requirements while preserving their privacy. EU member states will be closely involved in establishing the age-assurance ecosystem.
Social media and video-sharing platforms will also be required to verify users' ages when a user creates a new account.
For existing accounts, providers will have to estimate a user's age using “reasonable proxies.” These could include information such as an account's creation date or credit-card details.
The KIDS Act will shift more responsibility to large online platforms.
Under the proposal, providers of very large online platforms will have to prove that their services are “safe by design.” In other words, authorities will not have to establish that harm has occurred first and then require platforms to respond.
These companies will have to submit compliance plans to the European Commission and an independent auditor. The auditor will thoroughly assess new services, features or functionalities covered by the rules.
If the Commission determines, based on the auditor's report, that a compliance plan has shortcomings, it could require the provider to propose corrective measures.
The enforcement framework will build on mechanisms already established under the EU's Digital Services Act and the Artificial Intelligence Act.
The Commission is also proposing expedited enforcement procedures for cases of noncompliance. Under the proposal, the Commission should conclude investigations within 90 days.
Asked how the rules would be enforced if a platform were found to use addictive features during a news briefing, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said such features would have to be removed, stressing that platforms would not be allowed to provide access to minors until they comply.
She described this as a “clear exclusion component,” meaning platforms that fail to remove prohibited addictive features could be prevented from providing access to underage users.
The Commission chief said children are being exposed at increasingly young ages to digital environments that were not designed with their well-being or development in mind.
She said platforms are designed to capture users' attention and that parents should not be expected to compete with algorithms.
The proposal is therefore aimed at shifting some of the responsibility from parents to the companies designing and operating the services.
It also seeks to harmonize rules across the EU. The Commission says different national approaches create obstacles to the bloc's Digital Single Market, while a common age threshold would provide a similar level of protection for children across member states.
Von der Leyen said the age restrictions would not “let tech companies off the hook” for harmful content, arguing that platforms would still have to demonstrate that their services are safe for children.
The proposal comes as European governments have increasingly voiced support for tighter restrictions on children's social media use.
France has been at the forefront of the debate, with its parliament approving a ban on social media access for children younger than 15 in July.
However, France's Constitutional Council struck down the measure in August, and the government announced that it would submit a revised proposal for the ban to the Commission a day before the Commission adopted the Act.
The KIDS Act is currently a legislative proposal by the European Commission. It has been submitted to the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, which must examine and adopt the legislation.
This means the proposed age limits and platform obligations are not yet in force across the EU, and the final rules could change during the legislative process.
The Commission has called for the proposal to be adopted swiftly, citing what it describes as an urgent need for comprehensive action at the EU level.
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