European Commission proposes social media restrictions for minors

EU KIDS Act social media regulation child safety online digital wellbeing age verification

The European Commission has unveiled a detailed roadmap, known as the EU KIDS Act, to regulate social media access for minors across the European Union. The proposal aims to address growing concerns regarding mental health, addiction, and online safety for children and adolescents.

Under the proposed rules, children under the age of 13 would be prohibited from using social media platforms. For those aged 13 to 15, the plan mandates the use of supervised “mini accounts” created and managed by parents or guardians. These accounts would feature restricted functions and a daily usage limit of one hour.

For users aged 15 to 18, the legislation would require platforms to implement “safe by design” features. This includes restricting addictive algorithms, such as infinite scrolling and autoplay, to mitigate compulsive behaviors. Additionally, the proposal seeks to ban personalized advertising and algorithmic profiling for minors.

To protect against emotional dependency, AI assistants and chatbots would be prohibited from mimicking human friends. The European Parliament has already expressed support for an integrated internet safety strategy, voting in favor of such measures. The proposal must now undergo review and approval by the European Parliament and EU member states before becoming law.

Entities

European Commission · European Parliament · Hana Virkunen · Meta · TikTok · Ursula von der Leyen

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.

[● 5 SOURCES] The European Commission proposes banning social media for children under 13. n1info.rs · www.alaraby.co.uk · www.fnn.jp · vijesti.hrt.hr · therecord.media
[● 2 SOURCES] Platforms must implement safe design features for users aged 15 to 18 to limit addictive behaviors like infinite scrolling. www.alaraby.co.uk · therecord.media
[○ 1 SOURCE] AI assistants and chatbots will be prohibited from behaving like human friends to prevent emotional dependency in children. n1info.rs
[● 4 SOURCES] Supervised accounts for 13-to-15-year-olds will be limited to one hour of use per day. n1info.rs · www.alaraby.co.uk · www.fnn.jp · therecord.media
[○ 1 SOURCE] The proposed law requires platforms to implement age verification without collecting or storing personal data. europske.noviny.sk
[○ 1 SOURCE] The European Parliament voted 395 in favor, 136 against, and 80 abstentions to call for an integrated European strategy for internet safety. europske.noviny.sk
[○ 1 SOURCE] The proposal includes bans on personalized advertising and algorithms based on previous activity for minors. n1info.rs
[● 4 SOURCES] Children aged 13 to 15 may only use limited accounts supervised by parents. n1info.rs · www.alaraby.co.uk · www.fnn.jp · therecord.media