Overview
- The European Commission will publish a draft 'EU Kids Act' this Thursday that proposes EU-wide age tiers and would bar under-15s from independent use of social media, video platforms, AI chatbots and many online games.
- France has revised its national under-15 measure after the Constitutional Council found the first law disproportionate and has formally notified the Commission of new wording that influenced the bloc-wide push.
- The draft sets staged access: no access for under-3s, parent-controlled child-friendly accounts for ages 3–12, parental introductory accounts for 13–14 year olds, and independent accounts from age 15.
- Platforms would face 'safe-by-design' duties to remove addictive features such as autoplay and night notifications, to verify users' ages, to supply reporting and parental-control tools, and to pay supervisory fees under a centralised enforcement model similar to the DSA and AI Act.
- Key details still need negotiation and legal review in Brussels and Strasbourg and practical hurdles remain such as age-verification limits, account sharing and likely litigation that could shape how the rules affect families and tech companies.