The European Commission has proposed new rules that would prevent children under 13 from having social media accounts across the European Union, as part of a wider effort to strengthen online safety for minors.
The proposal, called the EU KIDS Act, was presented on September 17 and would introduce common age-based rules for social media and video-sharing platforms across the bloc.
No Social Media Accounts Under 13
Under the proposed rules, children below 13 would not be allowed to create social media accounts.
Children aged 13 and 14 could use so-called mini accounts, but these would have to be created and supervised by a parent or guardian. These accounts would have limited features and a proposed daily usage limit of one hour for age-appropriate social media and video-sharing content.
Independent social media accounts would be allowed from the age of 15.
Platforms Would Need to Verify Age
The proposed legislation would also require platforms to use reliable age-assurance systems to determine whether users fall within the applicable age categories.
The European Commission plans to support age verification through certified digital tools, including the planned European Digital Identity Wallet, while keeping the verification process separate from individual platforms.
Existing accounts belonging to children below the applicable age limits would also have to be reviewed once the rules take effect.
Addictive Features Could Be Restricted
The KIDS Act goes beyond age limits. It would require online services used by minors to adopt stronger safety-by-design measures.
Platforms would face restrictions on features such as infinite scrolling, personalised advertising, profiling-based recommendation systems and unsolicited contact from strangers.
Push notifications during defined sleeping hours would also be restricted.
Children’s profiles would be private by default, while access to features such as geolocation, cameras and microphones would be limited.
AI Chatbots Also Included
The proposal covers more than conventional social media.
Its scope includes video-sharing platforms, online games, AI companions and chatbots used by minors.
AI companions and chatbots would be turned off by default for children under the proposed framework, while platforms would have to demonstrate that their services are safe and age-appropriate.
Proposal Still Needs Approval
The EU KIDS Act is currently a legislative proposal, not an immediate ban.
It must still go through the European Union’s legislative process, including approval by EU governments and the European Parliament. The proposal could therefore be amended before any rules come into force.
The European Commission wants the legislation to create a common EU-wide framework instead of having different age restrictions and online safety requirements across individual member states.
Summary
The European Commission has proposed the EU KIDS Act, which would ban social media accounts for children under 13 and allow only parent-supervised mini accounts for 13- and 14-year-olds. Independent accounts would begin at 15. The proposal also targets addictive features, personalised recommendations, unsolicited contacts, push notifications and AI chatbots. The legislation still requires approval before it can take effect.
