A new proposal from the European Commission this week, if approved, would impose some of the strictest limits yet on technology products, ranging from social media platforms to games and AI chatbots.
The EU Kids Act would build on, and in some respects go beyond, similar rules already introduced in Australia, the UK, China and India. It would force companies such as Meta, Google, YouTube and Roblox to change how they operate. Before that happens, however, the legislation would still need to be reviewed, debated and voted on.
Its main elements include a social media ban for children under 13, age checks for online accounts and requirements for technology companies to show that their services are designed with safety in mind. The proposal formalizes months of discussion and comes as public pressure grows for governments to address technologies that are easy for children to access and have been linked in research and court rulings to harms such as internet addiction and exposure to predators.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement Thursday that the Kids Act shifts the burden onto platforms to prove they are safe by design and gives parents the tools to help children navigate a safer online environment.
Megan Jenkins, an analyst at Assembly Research who focuses on AI and online safety, said the Kids Act goes further than other legislation proposed so far and marks a major move away from broad social media bans like those seen in countries such as Australia.
Jenkins said one of the biggest differences from some of those laws is that tech companies would have to prove their products are safe, making it the first law of its kind. If they cannot demonstrate that, she said, they would not be allowed to offer services to minors.
What the EU Kids Act Includes
Talk about what would and would not be included in the Kids Act began days earlier after drafts of the proposal were leaked. In the end, the version that emerged is broader than many expected. Along with a tiered age system for teen access to social media, it would require companies that make online games, AI chatbots or companions, and social networks to prove that their products are safe and free from features such as infinite scrolling that could be seen as manipulative or addictive for children.
The largest part of the proposal is the ban on social media use for anyone under 13. For children under 15, parents could create a limited account that is accessible through their own account on age-appropriate social media or video-sharing platforms. Screen time would be capped at one hour per day. Teens ages 16 to 18 could create anonymous accounts without parental consent.
Two other major parts of the proposal target technology companies. They would have to avoid addictive design features, provide simple parental controls, use recommendation systems that are safe for children and remove any option for minors to livestream. They would also be required to verify the ages of new accounts or anyone signing in to an existing account.
The final section of the proposal addresses enforcement. The EU would speed up investigations into violations, aiming to finish them within 90 days. Companies with 45 million or more active users would need to submit a compliance plan for any new services or features and face a review that could last up to 30 days. New features, services or functionalities that do not receive a positive opinion from the European Commission would not be permitted.
The Age-Verification ‘Sticking Point’
Even if the EU proposal passes with few changes, enforcement would be difficult. It would likely face legal challenges from some of the world’s largest technology companies, and as countries such as Australia have discovered, it is hard to set limits that teens cannot find ways around.
David Inserra, a fellow for free expression and technology at the Cato Institute, argued that the restrictions are unlikely to succeed, noting that other age-verification and social media bans have been routinely bypassed by tech-savvy children.
Inserra also said the age-verification technologies themselves raise privacy concerns by generating large amounts of sensitive identification data that could be targeted by hacks and data breaches for both teens and adults.
Jenkins acknowledged that age verification remains a difficult issue in online safety regulation because of privacy concerns, but she said she believes the Kids Act is a positive step toward replacing blanket social media bans for children.