(Sept 14): The European Union (EU) will propose limiting access to social media for children under 15 years old, in a flagship “Kids Act” to be unveiled on Thursday.
A policy document seen by Bloomberg News shows that the bloc’s executive branch, the European Commission, will demand that social media companies, online gaming services and AI chatbots age-gate their services to keep out the youngest teens. They will also need to adopt safety features to minimise abuse and addictive behaviours, according to the document, which is a draft that might change before it’s published.
Under the proposal, the EU would establish a minimum age of 15 to open an “autonomous account”, the document states, referring to an account without parental supervision. Children between three and 13 years old will only be allowed access to services tailored for children and with full parental supervision. Minors aged 13 and 14 will be allowed accounts on mainstream platforms with significant restrictions including daily time limits and parental controls.
The EU is joining a growing movement to restrict children’s access to social media and other digital services over mental health and safety concerns. The UK and other countries are planning a range of restrictions on children’s use of social media platforms in the wake of curbs Australia introduced last year.
Platforms in scope of the proposed new rules will have to ensure to verify the age of every user creating a new account using an official EU verification app or equivalent mechanism.
Breaching the Kids Act could result in fines. The draft document states that the enforcement framework is modelled after other tech rulebooks in the bloc such as the Digital Services Act and AI Act, which carry the risk of high penalties tied to a company’s total worldwide sales. Platforms will also have to pay a supervisory fee to fund the commission’s supervision.
The Commission declined to comment.
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