EU KIDS Act

EU to limit access to social media before age of 15

New “EU KIDS Act” would require TikTok and Instagram to create safer accounts for younger users.

By Pieter Haeck and Eliza Gkritsi

The European Commission will propose new rules to restrict minors' access to social media and video-sharing platforms before the age of 15, according to preparatory documents seen by POLITICO and a person familiar with the matter.

The EU executive on Thursday will unveil a new EU KIDS Act setting out age restrictions, along with new rules requiring covered products, such as social media and AI companions, to be safe by design. The proposal aims to create a tiered system for accessing social media under parental supervision before age 15, the documents said.

The age restrictions are a major step by the European Commission and its President Ursula von der Leyen to better safeguard minors' on social media platforms, amid a fierce backlash from health experts, politicians and parents against the effects of platforms like TikTok, Instagram and others on the mental health of minors.

It comes after months of intense pressure from government leaders, including France's Emmanuel Macron, to put the issue at the top of the political agenda. Austria, Denmark, France, Greece and Spain are all pushing ahead with national laws to restrict kids' access to social media.

Von der Leyen is expected to present more details in her State of the European Union speech to parliament members in Strasbourg on Wednesday.

Commission spokesperson Olof Gil confirmed the act is coming on Thursday at a press conference on Monday.

The EU's new proposal would apply to social media, video-sharing platforms, online games, and AI chatbots and AI companions, but would exclude educational tools. It will also come with a series of education measures for kids, parents and guardians, the documents said.

A panel of health and tech experts convened by von der Leyen presented similar recommendations earlier this year to restrict access to what they called "social media+," including services like AI companions.

The text is still subject to change ahead of its formal presentation on Thursday and will have to be negotiated with European governments and members of the European Parliament afterward.

Kids' accounts before 15

The proposal doesn't set a hard limit on social media access but instead calls for certain types of accounts to be accessible at different ages. These limitations apply to social media and video-sharing platforms that are high-risk, the documents said without clarifying how the category would be determined.

For children under 13, parents can open accounts for their kids that are fully controlled by the guardians and use services that meet strict safety standards.

Between 13 and 15, the proposal calls for introductory accounts with limits on contact with strangers and screen time, as well as parental controls.

After 15, teenagers can set up their own accounts.

The proposal would also require verification technology for social media and video-sharing platforms to verify users' ages, the documents said.

The Commission's proposal will include a new enforcement architecture similar to that of the Digital Services Act and the Artificial Intelligence Act, including supervisory fees to be paid by companies, the documents said. These laws centralize enforcement of the highest-risk companies and services to the Commission, while leaving national regulators to oversee smaller firms.

The Commission declined to comment on the plans.