The EU KIDS ACT will restrict children’s access to social media platforms in the EU

The European Commission has adopted the EU KIDS ACT to improve the online safety of children across the Union.

The proposal prohibits social media platforms from allowing access to children under the age of 13 and sets an EU-wide minimum age of 15 for children to open their own accounts, thereby ensuring a phased approach. The EU KIDS ACT also reverses the burden of proof: service providers will now have to demonstrate that their services are age-appropriate for children and are secure by design.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has stated:

‘Today, our children are interacting with the most sophisticated technologies ever created. Technologies that were never designed with their wellbeing in mind. Our EU KIDS ACT reverses the burden of proof: it is up to the platforms to demonstrate that they are safe by design. And we are putting parents back in control, providing them with the tools they need to help their children navigate a safer online world.”

The EU KIDS ACT proposal is structured around four pillars:

1. Delaying access to social media

The EU KIDS ACT proposes that children should only be allowed to create their own accounts on social media platforms from the age of 15.

For children aged between 13 and 15, the proposal provides for parental control, allowing guardians to create ‘mini-accounts’ which children can access via the guardian’s account. This would enable them to access age-appropriate social media and video-sharing platforms. Furthermore, the services available on these mini-accounts must be designed with protective measures, such as a limited number of social contacts and screen time restricted to one hour a day, recognising the role of guardians in supporting their children’s independent and safe development online.

Children aged between 3 and 13 cannot access social media, but they can access video-sharing services specially designed for them via accounts managed by their guardian. To this end, platforms must provide parents or guardians with an easy-to-use tool to restrict the use of the adult’s device to such child-friendly services when the device is handed over to the child, and to limit the child’s exposure to a maximum of one hour per day.

2. Security by design

The EU KIDS ACT imposes a series of obligations on all online services offering social media, video-sharing, online video games, AI companions and chatbots to users under the age of 18.

These include a ban on addictive features and profile-based recommendations that trap minors in spirals of harmful content. It also includes a ban on infinite scrolling without stopping points, reward strategies and automatic notifications during sleeping hours, as well as unsolicited contact from strangers. Furthermore, AI companions and chatbots must be disabled by default and must not simulate interpersonal relationships in a way that creates emotional dependence. 

Minors’ profiles must be private by default, with access to geolocation, cameras and microphones disabled. Online services must also provide simple ways to block and mute other users, effective time-management tools and safe recommendation systems that minors can control, adjust and reset. 

3. Age verification that respects privacy

Under the EU KIDS ACT, online services and app stores must use age verification tools. They may, for example, use the EU’s age verification app, which does not store identity documents or biometric data, thereby complying with the strictest privacy safeguards. Member States will be closely involved in the creation of this ecosystem.

In addition, providers of social media services and video-sharing platforms will be required to verify a user’s age when they open a new account.

In the case of existing accounts, providers will be required to estimate the user’s age on the basis of reasonable indicators (for example, the date the account was created or credit card details).

4. Effective implementation

The proposal reverses the ‘burden of proof’, making very large online platform providers responsible for demonstrating that their services are ‘secure by design’.

They will be required to submit a compliance plan to the Commission and to an independent auditor, who must carry out a thorough assessment of the new service, feature or functionality. The Commission may ask the provider to propose corrective measures if, on the basis of the auditor’s report, it considers that the compliance plan has any shortcomings.

The enforcement framework builds on the structures already in place under the Digital Services Regulation and the Artificial Intelligence Regulation, drawing on established mechanisms and existing expertise. The proposal introduces fast-track enforcement procedures against providers in the event of non-compliance with the EU KIDS ACT, in which case the Commission must conclude its investigations within 90 days.

Next steps

The legislative proposal has been submitted to the European Parliament and the Council, with a view to initiating the legislative process for its examination and adoption. Given the clear demand for urgent and comprehensive measures at Union level, it is essential that the legislation be adopted swiftly.

Background

The proposal is based on the report and recommendations of the co-chairs of the Task Force on Child Safety Online, Dr Maria Melchior and Prof. Dr Jorg M Fegert. President von der Leyen convened the task force to seek expert advice on the EU framework for the safety of children online.

The task force, comprising more than 60 experts — including representatives from civil society organisations, young people, parents, educators, child psychiatrists, public health specialists, neurologists and technology experts — met for the first time in March 2026 and held three sessions prior to the presentation of the report in July 2026. 

Furthermore, the proposal reflects the growing number of Europeans calling for greater protection of children online: according to the special Eurobarometer on the Digital Decade 2026, 92 per cent of Europeans consider the need to further strengthen the protection of children and young people online to be a key political priority, whether in relation to cyberbullying, exposure to harmful content, addictive design or other risks.

 

More information: European Commission