Overview
- The Commission unveiled a draft EU Kids Act this Thursday that would set minimum ages and account types across the bloc, saying no social media for under-13s and no autonomous personal accounts for under-15s.
- The proposal establishes a tiered system where 15‑year‑olds can open independent accounts, 13‑ to 14‑year‑olds may use parental 'introductory' accounts, children 3–12 would have fully parent‑controlled child‑friendly accounts and under‑3s would be barred.
- Platforms covered would include social media, video-sharing, online games and AI chatbots, with child accounts required to be 'safe by design' through limits on infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications and personalised harmful feeds.
- Companies would have to verify users’ ages, provide easy reporting and parental-control tools, pay supervisory fees to fund enforcement and face fines comparable to the Digital Services Act for major breaches.
- The text is a draft that could change during months of negotiation with member states and the European Parliament, and it faces legal and privacy challenges highlighted by France’s recent court ruling and critics worried about large-scale age‑verification risks.