The European Union is moving to tighten children’s access to social media, artificial intelligence chatbots, video-sharing platforms and online games, while also forcing technology companies to curb features that can keep young users online for long periods.
The proposed EU Kids Act would set 15 as the minimum age for children to open independent accounts on covered digital services. The European Commission is expected to formally present the proposal on Thursday, following pressure from member states for common rules on protecting children online.
Under the draft, children aged 13 and 14 would be allowed to use introductory accounts on social media, artificial intelligence and gaming platforms only with parental approval. Their accounts would have limited functions, screen-time restrictions and parental controls.
Children aged three to 13 would instead use fully parent-controlled accounts on services classified as child-friendly. Those below three would be barred from social media and other services considered to pose significant risks.
Eurostat says 89.3% of people aged 16 to 29 in the EU used social networks in 2025, compared with 67.3% of the overall population. In 19 of the bloc’s 27 countries, more than 90% of young people used social networks.
The European Commission estimates that about 97% of young people in the EU use the internet every day, and fueling concern over unhealthy digital use.
A World Health Organization study of almost 280,000 young people aged 11, 13 and 15 across 44 countries and regions found that problematic social media use rose from 7% in 2018 to 11% in 2022.
Girls recorded a higher rate at 13%, compared with 9% among boys. The study also found that 12% of adolescents were at risk of problematic gaming.
The EU plan would therefore place duties on platforms beyond simply checking users’ ages. Companies would be required to make their services safer by design and remove or restrict features that may encourage prolonged or compulsive use.
Among the features targeted are infinite scrolling, artificial notifications, autoplay and certain reward systems. The Commission is already examining some of these practices under existing digital rules.
In February 2026, the Commission preliminarily found TikTok in breach of the Digital Services Act over addictive design features, including infinite scrolling, autoplay, push notifications and personalised recommendation systems.
In July, it also preliminarily found Meta’s Facebook and Instagram in breach over similar features, including infinite scrolling, autoplay and push notifications.
Australia introduced a law in December 2025 requiring major platforms to prevent children under 16 from holding accounts. By January 2026, Australian authorities said about 4.7 million accounts linked to under-16s had been removed, deactivated or restricted.
Early Australian research later showed that under-16s holding social media accounts fell from 52.4% to 42.1% three months after the restrictions began.
The EU proposal would allow younger children limited and supervised access. The Commission is also preparing an age-verification application to help platforms confirm users’ ages without relying only on self-declarations.
The draft would give parents greater control over what younger children can access while placing more responsibility on technology companies to limit harmful or compulsive use.
The proposal can still change before publication and would have to pass through the EU legislative process. If adopted, the EU Kids Act would combine age limits with new requirements on how digital platforms are designed and operated.