EU Commission proposes social media ban for children under 13

The European Commission has unveiled a sweeping legislative proposal aimed at significantly restricting children's access to social media. At the heart of the plan is a ban on children under 13 opening their own social media accounts. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented the initiative on Thursday, framing it as a necessary step to protect children from online dangers.

Under the proposed rules, referred to in some reports as the KIDS Act, children aged 13 to 15 would be permitted to hold accounts on social platforms, but only under parental control. A fully independent account, one that a minor could manage without parental oversight, would only be allowed from age 15 onward. This would place the EU among a growing number of jurisdictions that have introduced minimum age requirements for social media use in recent years.

Beyond the age restrictions, the proposal would require platform operators to limit potentially addictive design features. This includes functions designed to maximize user engagement time as well as certain notification mechanisms. Providers would also be encouraged to offer specially designed, age-appropriate accounts with enhanced safety and privacy protections for minors.

The proposal responds to years of ongoing debate about the effects of social media on young people's mental health. Studies and reports from various countries have repeatedly pointed to links between intensive social media use and psychological strain among adolescents. Safety concerns, including cyberbullying and contact with strangers through social networks, also factored into the development of the plan.

The current proposal represents only an initial step in the European legislative process. Before the rules can actually take effect, they must be negotiated with the 27 EU member states as well as the European Parliament. This process can take several months or even years, given the range of interests and technical questions that need to be resolved.

A central practical challenge lies in how to reliably verify users' ages. Many platforms currently rely largely on self-reported age information, which can easily be circumvented. The Commission's proposal is therefore expected to include requirements for technical age-verification systems, though the precise design of such systems has not yet been detailed. Privacy advocates and civil liberties groups are likely to closely scrutinize how such systems can be reconciled with the right to privacy during the upcoming negotiations.

Large international platform operators active in the EU would be primarily affected by the new rules. They would need to adapt their services to comply with the new age limits and requirements for safer children's accounts. For companies, this could involve significant technical and organizational effort.

The EU Commission's proposal fits into a broader international trend, as several countries outside Europe have introduced or announced age restrictions on social media in recent years. Observers see the EU plan as a potential catalyst for other countries considering similar measures. How the legislative process in Brussels will unfold in detail, and what changes might still be made to the original proposal, remains to be seen.