EU Commission proposes Kids Act banning social media for under-13s and capping teen accounts

Tiered age access and mini accounts

The European Commission presented the EU Kids Act on 17 September 2026 to introduce standardized age-based rules for digital services across the 27 European Union member states. Under the draft regulation, children under 13 are completely barred from accessing social media platforms, with children aged 3 to 13 restricted to parent-supervised video services limited to one hour daily. Teenagers aged 13 to 15 can access age-appropriate social and video platforms exclusively through parental mini accounts that cap usage at one hour per day and restrict contacts. Users aged 15 and older are permitted to open autonomous accounts, though platform safeguards remain mandatory until age 18. App stores and online services must implement privacy-preserving age verification for new accounts and run age estimations for existing profiles.

Design obligations and algorithm bans

The proposal establishes safety-by-design requirements across social media, online gaming, video sharing, and artificial intelligence chatbots accessible to minors. Platforms must disable infinite scrolling, continuous interaction mechanisms, and overnight push notifications during sleeping hours. Recommendation systems are prohibited from guiding young users toward harmful material, and user profiles for minors must default to private settings with geolocation, cameras, and microphones deactivated. Virtual companions and artificial intelligence chatbots must remain turned off by default and cannot simulate personal emotional relationships with minors. Ursula von der Leyen explained the broader regulatory pipeline for digital interfaces during the presentation.

Not only minors are at risk. There are platform designs that create addiction. They harm everyone, whether minors or adults. And that is why we also need a broader regulatory framework: the Digital Fairness Act. We will propose it in the autumn, today the focus is on the EU Kids Act.

Enforcement mechanisms and penalty structure

The regulatory framework places the burden of proof on tech companies to verify that their systems comply with safety standards before operation. Platforms must establish compliance plans and undergo independent audits, granting external inspectors direct access to relevant corporate data. Under the accelerated enforcement mechanism, the Commission can issue a formal warning requiring companies to correct infractions within 30 days. If non-compliance persists, an escalated 90-day phase can conclude with fines reaching up to 6% of global annual turnover. The regulation provides maximum harmonization across the bloc, preventing member states from enforcing divergent national age limits.

Parliamentary reaction and political divisions

In Strasbourg, the European Parliament approved a child digital safety report on 17 September 2026, aligning with the Commission initiative. Rapporteur Sandro Ruotolo defended the push for binding continental standards during the plenary debate.

In recent months we have built a paradigm shift: the primary responsibility cannot be shifted onto children and families. It is the platforms that must make the digital environment safe and habitable for minors.

The parliamentary resolution drew support from the European People's Party, Socialists and Democrats, Renew Europe, the Greens, and The Left. Opposing votes came from Europe of Sovereign Nations, most members of the European Conservatives and Reformists, and Italian governing parties Fratelli d'Italia, Lega, and Futuro Nazionale. Italian MEP Brando Benifei confirmed that parliamentarians will seek to maintain strict corporate accountability during legislative negotiations.

Following yesterday's announcement, the text of the Kids Act adopted today by the European Commission is a positive step forward: it goes beyond just banning social media for young children, introducing safety-by-design obligations against addictive algorithmic design, addressing profiling and recommendations, and covering AI chatbots as well. It is the line we have supported for a long time: responsibility must rest with platforms and Big Tech, not with children and families.