Overview
- MEPs voted 483–92 for a non‑binding plan to bar under‑13s from social platforms, allow 13–16‑year‑olds only with parental consent, and curb addictive design features across social media, video sites and AI companions.
- Lawmakers want reliable, privacy‑preserving age verification, backing an EU ‘Kids Wallet’/eID approach; Greece is piloting it, Denmark is next, and Spain, Italy and Belgium are preparing national versions.
- EU member states agreed a negotiating stance rejecting mandatory ‘chat control’ scans, opting for voluntary detection with a permanent legal exception and a European Commission review after three years.
- The Council text adds provider duties to assess and reduce risks, empowers authorities to order removals or blocks, and foresees an EU center to coordinate responses to online child sexual abuse.
- Data‑protection regulators question the legality of voluntary scanning and its impact on encryption, while Australia’s under‑16 social‑media ban starts 10 December and faces a High Court challenge filed by the Digital Freedom Project.