The European Union is set to propose curbing access to social media, video-sharing platforms, chatbots, and online games to children under the age of 15, according to a draft legal document seen by AFP.
A proposed new law – to be formally presented on Thursday (Sep 17) – would mean banning minors under 15 from opening their own accounts, with a tiered system of access under parental supervision for younger children.
As well as age limits, the new EU KIDS Act would force digital giants to make their platforms “safe by design” for children, meaning certain “addictive” features such as so-called infinite scrolling would have to be removed, the draft showed.
The European Commission has come under pressure from several EU member states, including France and Greece, to take bloc-wide measures to protect children from social media harms, a push that intensified after Australia banned under-16s from such platforms.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen will provide a glimpse of what to expect from the new law on Wednesday, during her annual address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.
She will then join EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen the following day to present the proposal, which according to the draft would ban addictive features such as endless scrolling, artificial notifications, and some reward features for children.The Commission, the EU’s digital watchdog, refused to comment on details of the draft seen by AFP.
Here are the key proposals in the draft, which remains subject to change until the text is published on Thursday:
The new law “sets an EU-wide minimum age for minors to open an autonomous account at the age of 15,” the draft says, with a tiered system applying to younger children.
Minors aged 13 and 14 will have to ask their parents to set up “introductory” accounts on social media, AI or gaming platforms, with limited features and strict screen time use.
Those accounts would also be under parents’ control.
