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EU Unveils KIDS Act: Social Media Banned for Under-13s
(MENAFN) The European Commission adopted the EU KIDS Act on Thursday, barring children under 13 from accessing social media platforms and establishing an EU-wide minimum age of 15 for minors to open their own accounts.
"The proposal prohibits social media platforms from accessing children under the age of 13 and sets an EU-wide minimum age for minors to open an account of their own at the age of 15," a written statement noted.
Under the act, minors would only be permitted to create personal social media accounts starting at age 15. For children aged 13 and 14, parents or guardians would be able to set up "mini accounts" accessible through the guardian's own account.
"This would allow them to access age-appropriate social media and video-sharing platforms," the statement added.
The proposal further emphasized that services offered through mini accounts must be built with protective measures, "such as limited social contacts and limited screen time up to one hour per day."
For children between the ages of 3 and 13 — who remain barred from social media entirely — the act carves out access to "specially designed child-friendly video-sharing services," provided they are used through accounts managed by a guardian.
Platforms would also be obligated to give parents or guardians simple tools to restrict children's use of adult-oriented devices to child-friendly services only, capped at one hour of daily use.
Beyond age restrictions, the act imposes broader obligations on online services — including social media, video-sharing platforms, online games, AI companions and chatbots — to safeguard users under 18.
Among its goals, the legislation seeks to ban addictive design features and profiling-based recommender feeds "dragging minors into 'rabbit holes' of harmful content." It also targets infinite scroll, reward-based engagement tricks, nighttime push notifications and unsolicited contact from strangers.
"In addition, AI companions and chatbots must be turned off by default and cannot simulate interpersonal relationships in ways that create emotional dependency," the statement further underscored.
Under the new rules, minors' profiles would default to private settings, with geolocation, camera and microphone access switched off. Platforms would also be required to provide minors with straightforward ways to block and mute other users, along with time-management tools and safer recommendation systems.
Online services and app stores will be required to deploy age-verification tools, and the Commission proposed the rollout of an EU age-verification app "which does not retain identity documents or biometric data, thereby meeting the highest privacy-preserving safeguards."
"The proposal reverses the 'burden of proof,' making the providers of very large online platforms responsible for proving that their services are 'safe by design,'" the statement added.
As a result, platforms will be required to submit compliance plans to both the Commission and an independent auditor, who must conduct a thorough assessment of any new service, feature or functionality.
"The proposal prohibits social media platforms from accessing children under the age of 13 and sets an EU-wide minimum age for minors to open an account of their own at the age of 15," a written statement noted.
Under the act, minors would only be permitted to create personal social media accounts starting at age 15. For children aged 13 and 14, parents or guardians would be able to set up "mini accounts" accessible through the guardian's own account.
"This would allow them to access age-appropriate social media and video-sharing platforms," the statement added.
The proposal further emphasized that services offered through mini accounts must be built with protective measures, "such as limited social contacts and limited screen time up to one hour per day."
For children between the ages of 3 and 13 — who remain barred from social media entirely — the act carves out access to "specially designed child-friendly video-sharing services," provided they are used through accounts managed by a guardian.
Platforms would also be obligated to give parents or guardians simple tools to restrict children's use of adult-oriented devices to child-friendly services only, capped at one hour of daily use.
Beyond age restrictions, the act imposes broader obligations on online services — including social media, video-sharing platforms, online games, AI companions and chatbots — to safeguard users under 18.
Among its goals, the legislation seeks to ban addictive design features and profiling-based recommender feeds "dragging minors into 'rabbit holes' of harmful content." It also targets infinite scroll, reward-based engagement tricks, nighttime push notifications and unsolicited contact from strangers.
"In addition, AI companions and chatbots must be turned off by default and cannot simulate interpersonal relationships in ways that create emotional dependency," the statement further underscored.
Under the new rules, minors' profiles would default to private settings, with geolocation, camera and microphone access switched off. Platforms would also be required to provide minors with straightforward ways to block and mute other users, along with time-management tools and safer recommendation systems.
Online services and app stores will be required to deploy age-verification tools, and the Commission proposed the rollout of an EU age-verification app "which does not retain identity documents or biometric data, thereby meeting the highest privacy-preserving safeguards."
"The proposal reverses the 'burden of proof,' making the providers of very large online platforms responsible for proving that their services are 'safe by design,'" the statement added.
As a result, platforms will be required to submit compliance plans to both the Commission and an independent auditor, who must conduct a thorough assessment of any new service, feature or functionality.
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