EU KIDS Act: Key Proposals for Children's Online Safety and Social Media Use
Overview of the EU KIDS Act Proposals
BRUSSELS, Sept 17 (Reuters) - The European Commission has proposed banning under-13s from social media and requiring platforms to design online services that are safe for all children's accounts.
Here are the details of the proposed EU KIDS Act, which will require approval from European Union governments and the European Parliament and could be revised before it is enacted.
Age Categories and Account Regulations
Bans and Account Types by Age Group
AGE CATEGORIES
The proposed regulation bans social media accounts for those aged under 13, allows parent-supervised "mini accounts" for children aged 13 and 14, and independent accounts only for those 15 years and older.
Parental Supervision for 13- and 14-Year-Olds
For 13- and 14-year-olds, a guardian would be able to set up a limited account that the guardian will control, with a daily limit of up to an hour of age-appropriate social media and video-sharing platforms.
Verification and Existing Accounts
For teenagers with existing accounts, platforms would have to check — within six months of the rules applying — whether existing account holders will have to disable the accounts of children under 15 or for those whose age cannot be established.
Checks would not be required if platforms can tell with high confidence that users are adults.
Age will be verified with certified solutions independent of platforms, including a planned European Digital Identity Wallet.
Obligations for Social Media Companies
Platform Requirements and Safety Measures
WHAT SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES MUST DO
The EU KIDS Act sets obligations for all social media, video sharing, online video games, AI companions and chatbots for users below the age of 18.
Prohibited Features and Default Settings
These include bans on addictive features, profiling-based recommender feeds and personalised ads or algorithms based on past activity. The Act would prevent infinite scrolling without breaks, reward 'tricks', unsolicited contact from strangers and push notifications during sleeping hours, defined as eight consecutive hours between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m.
AI companions and chatbots must be turned off by default. Profiles for children must be private by default, with geolocation, camera and microphone access turned off.
Compliance and Enforcement
The burden of proof will be on platforms to show they are safe for children. Platforms with 45 million or more active monthly users in the EU will have to present compliance plans before coming into contact with children.
Impact on Existing National Rules
Harmonization Across the EU
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO EXISTING NATIONAL RULES?
The provisions of the EU Kids Act are designed to replace a patchwork of different rules in separate EU countries with the same level of protection across the bloc.
Case Study: France's Push for Stricter Rules
France has pushed for an EU-wide ban for under-15s after France's Constitutional Court struck down a national bill before it was due to take effect in September, saying it infringed on freedom of expression.
(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
