EU proposes social media ban for minors
The European Commission has proposed a social media ban for under-15s, as part of the EU Kids Act, in a bid to protect young people’s online safety. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled the plan, which follows pressure from over a dozen member states to introduce national social media bans.
Under the proposal, children under 13 would be completely barred from using social media unless a parent opened an account for them and the platform could demonstrate it is a “child-friendly” service. For 13-year-olds to 15-year-olds, parents could open accounts with additional measures such as parental oversight, a one-hour screen-time limit, and restrictions on contact with strangers.
Regulatory Challenges Ahead
The EU Kids Act must still clear the EU’s complex legislative process. The proposal also raises issues about how the EU will enforce age verification and tackle addictive design features on social media platforms.
Some analysts have stated that the EU didn’t use existing legislation, such as the Digital Services Act, to protect children online. “We are not lacking legal instruments,” said Jessica Galissaire, policy researcher at the European tech think tank Interface. “Clearly, the problem lies elsewhere. What we are lacking is enforcement, and adding one more layer to the legislative millefeuille will not change that.”
The proposal includes “safety-by-design” requirements to reduce addictive design features and would require platforms to prove they are safe for users under 18. Penalties for non-compliance could be steep, with fines of up to 6% of global turnover.
The EU’s age verification system has been praised by some as better designed than the Australian one, which has been bypassed by teens using virtual private networks. However, the system is still not ready, with member states aiming to finalize it by the end of the year.
Broader Scope and Regulatory Overlaps
The regulation covers all online social networking services and video-sharing platform services as well as artificial intelligence companions and conversational chatbots, according to the proposal. That also includes online gaming providers with platform-like social features. This broader scope could create new overlaps in the EU’s regulatory framework, according to Patrick Grady, head of European Tech at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.
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Throughout 2025 and 2026, EU countries have moved quickly to propose their own restrictions on social media use by minors, raising concerns about a patchwork of different approaches. However, the EU now faces the challenge of speed, with the legislative process expected to take time. Commissioner Henna Virkkunen said in a press conference on September 17 that the EU needed a more targeted piece of legislation to protect children.
Commission officials have laid out a timeline of eight to 12 months, but others believe the EU could move more quickly. “I think it is a very positive step, and where there’s a will, there’s a way,” said MEP Sandro Gozi, who hoped the act would be signed off in 18 months. MEP Axel Voss said the legislative process could take up to two years.
The interests of one group were largely missing from the Kids Act: kids. Simeon de Brouwer, a policy analyst at European Digital Rights, said the Kids Act would fail to address the root causes of harmful digital platforms and would severely impact young people whose parents are not supportive or available.
Lawmakers in the European Parliament and the Council must now thrash out a compromise on the proposal, with the Commission urging swift adoption. The Commission has said that the EU will use the offices and staff already set up by the DSA and AI Act to enforce the Kids Act, rather than creating a new structure, and that only 10 member states have already finalized their verification tools.
The proposal’s “safety-by-design” requirements aim to reduce addictive design features, which have been linked to negative effects on mental health.
The proposal also includes a fast-track 90-day enforcement procedure.
Enforcement and Age Verification
The EU’s age verification system has been praised for its decentralized design, allowing individuals to verify themselves in-person without requiring IDs or credit cards.
