European Commission proposes uniform age restrictions for social media

The European Commission has presented uniform EU-wide age restrictions for the use of social media. Children under 13 would be completely banned from having their own accounts, and only from the age of 15 would they be allowed to register on social media independently.

The new rules are contained in the EU KIDS Act bill presented on September 17, aimed at protecting minors on the internet. For now, this is a proposal by the European Commission, not a ban already in effect: the document still has to go through the EU legislative procedure.

Three access modes are proposed for children of different ages. Until they turn 13, children will be prohibited from having their own accounts on social media and video platforms. An exception is provided for special children's video services: a child will be able to use them through the account of a parent or guardian.

Between the ages of 13 and 15, teenagers will be allowed so-called mini-accounts. Parents or guardians will have to create and control them. Such accounts will have limited functionality, and usage duration must not exceed one hour per day. Children's contacts will also require parental approval.

From the age of 15, teenagers will be able to open accounts on their own without prior parental consent. However, platforms will still be obliged to apply special safety measures for users under 18.

Age will have to be verified

Simply entering a date of birth when registering will not be enough. Social networks will have to verify the age of users using certified tools.

The European Commission proposes using a special European age verification application for this purpose, and subsequently the European digital identity wallet. At the same time, the social network must not receive passport data or personal identity information: the system will merely confirm whether the person has reached the required age.

After the new rules come into force, platforms will be given six months to verify existing accounts. Accounts of users younger than 15, as well as those whose age cannot be confirmed, will have to be disabled or switched to the appropriate age mode.

Some "engaging" features will be removed from social media

The EU KIDS Act regulates not only users' age. For minors, the European Commission proposes banning features that encourage prolonged and compulsive use of services.

In particular, restrictions will apply to endless scrolling and autoplay without breaks, notifications specifically drawing children back into the app, rewards for regular posting, and mechanisms that force users to visit the service every day.

Minors' accounts will have to have safe settings by default. Strangers will not be able to write to children freely, and their profiles must not appear in contact recommendations. For minors, the possibility of livestreaming will also be restricted.

Separate requirements are introduced for recommendation algorithms. For children, they should be tuned primarily for safety, not for maximizing viewing time. Personalization based on tracking user behaviour must be disabled by default.

Rules will also affect AI chatbots and online games

The EU KIDS Act is proposed to apply not only to social media and video platforms. The requirements will cover online games, app stores, operating systems, as well as chatbots and virtual assistants powered by artificial intelligence.

For AI services available to minors, mechanisms that imitate human relationships and can create emotional dependency will be limited. Children under 13 will be allowed to use such services only through parental control tools.

At the same time, encyclopaedias, educational platforms, digital media and certain other information access services are proposed to be exempted from some restrictions.

Fines could reach 6% of global turnover

The largest internet platforms with at least 45 million active users in the EU will have to prove compliance with the new requirements to the European Commission in advance. Compliance plans will have to be verified by independent audit at the expense of the companies themselves.

Violations of the requirements are punishable by fines of up to 6% of the company's total annual worldwide turnover. The European Commission also proposes a fast-track investigation procedure for the largest services, with a target of reaching a final decision within 90 days.

Thus, the European Commission proposes for the first time to establish a unified age regime for social media in all EU countries instead of various national rules.

Based on materials from: European Commission, explanatory notes to the EU KIDS Act