Brussels Draws a Line on Kids and Social Media
The European Commission has formally presented its long-anticipated EU Kids Act, a proposal that would reshape how children across the bloc interact with social media, video-sharing platforms, online games and AI chatbots. The plan, unveiled by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen alongside Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen, sets out some of the most detailed age-based restrictions any major regulator has attempted so far.
At the heart of the proposal is a tiered system. Children under 13 would be barred from holding social media accounts entirely. Those aged 13 and 14 could use “mini accounts” but only under close parental supervision, with reduced features and time limits built into the design. Teenagers aged 15 to 17 would be granted broader access, though platforms serving them would face new obligations to build their services in ways that reduce risk, rather than maximise engagement.
Why Now: Pressure From Member States and a Fragmented Legal Landscape
The timing of the proposal is no accident. According to Commission officials, legislation addressing children’s access to social media is already being prepared or negotiated in roughly seventeen member states, with countries including Austria, Denmark, France, Greece and Spain pushing ahead with their own national restrictions. That patchwork approach has raised concerns in Brussels about a fragmented digital market, where a teenager’s rights and protections could differ sharply depending on which EU country they live in.
France offers a cautionary tale of just how legally fraught this territory can be. French lawmakers passed a ban on social media accounts for under-15s in July, only for the country’s Constitutional Council to strike the law down weeks later, ruling that a blanket prohibition could not be imposed without infringing on freedom of expression and communication. That ruling is cited directly in the Commission’s own reasoning, as evidence of the legal complexity Brussels is trying to navigate with a bloc-wide framework rather than leaving the matter to individual capitals.
Privacy-First Age Verification
One of the more technically ambitious elements of the plan is its approach to age verification. Rather than requiring platforms to collect identity documents or birth dates, the proposal calls for an open-source EU-developed verification tool built on cryptographic proofs that confirm whether a user meets an age threshold without revealing their actual identity or date of birth. The long-term goal is to fold this technology into the EU’s digital identity wallet, expected to become widely available toward the end of 2026.
Large platforms would be required to submit compliance plans to the Commission and to independent auditors, covering both existing services and any new features they plan to introduce. Officials say the goal is to force continuous evaluation, rather than a one-off compliance check, so that platforms cannot simply tweak their products after regulators look away.
Addictive Design in the Crosshairs
Beyond age limits, the proposal takes direct aim at design features widely blamed for keeping young users glued to their screens. Mechanisms such as daily “streaks,” endless scroll and reward-driven notification systems would face new restrictions for accounts used by minors. The Commission has framed the initiative around a simple distinction: the issue is not whether children access social media, but how platforms are allowed to access children.
The scope of the plan extends further than many expected. Online gaming platforms were added at the request of Spain and the Netherlands, meaning age gates and parental consent requirements could eventually apply before a young user can even download certain games within the EU. Educational tools and workplace-focused AI systems are carved out of the proposal’s scope.
A Long Road Through Brussels Still Lies Ahead
Presenting the plan is only the first step. The EU Kids Act now needs to pass through negotiations with the European Parliament and all 27 national governments before it can become binding law, a process that typically stretches over many months and often reshapes the fine print considerably. Questions remain unanswered, including exactly which services will be classified as “high-risk” for minors and how enforcement will be funded, with early drafts suggesting all covered companies, including smaller studios, would pay into a supervisory fee.
The proposal also follows growing international momentum on the issue, including Australia’s ban on social media accounts for under-16s and a multi-billion-dollar settlement in the United States between Meta and a coalition of state attorneys general over claims that platform design deliberately fostered addiction among young users. For Brussels, the EU Kids Act is being pitched as Europe’s answer to a global reckoning over how tech platforms treat their youngest users, even as the technical and legal details are still very much a work in progress.
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