The EU Kids Act also reverses the burden of proof: now, service providers will have to demonstrate that their services are age-appropriate and safe by design.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated: “Our children are currently interacting with the most sophisticated technologies ever created. Technologies that were never designed with their well-being in mind. Our EU Kids Act reverses the burden of proof: it is up to the platforms to demonstrate that they are safe by design. And we are giving control back to parents, providing them with the tools they need to help their children navigate a safer online world.”
The EU KIDS ACT proposal is structured around four pillars:
1. Postponing access to media and social networks.
The EU KIDS ACT proposes that minors only be able to create independent accounts on social media services from the age of 15.
For children between 13 and 15 years old, the proposal includes parental controls, allowing guardians to create "mini-accounts" that children can access through the guardian's account. This would allow them to access age-appropriate social networks and video-sharing platforms. Furthermore, the services available on these mini-accounts must be designed with protective measures, such as a restricted number of social contacts and screen time limited to one hour per day, recognizing the role of guardians in supporting their children's independent and safe online development.
Children between 3 and 13 years old cannot access social media, but they can access video-sharing services specifically designed for them through accounts managed by their guardian. To this end, platforms must offer parents or guardians an easy-to-use tool to restrict the use of the adult's device to child-friendly services when it is handed over to them, and limit the child's exposure to a maximum of one hour per day.
2. Safety by Design
The EU Kids Act imposes a series of obligations on all online services that offer social networking, video sharing, online gaming, AI companions, and chatbots to users under 18.
These include prohibiting addictive features and profile-based recommendations that trap children in spirals of harmful content. It also prohibits endless scrolling without stopping points, reward strategies, and push notifications during sleep hours, as well as contact from strangers. Furthermore, AI companions and chatbots must be disabled by default and cannot simulate interpersonal relationships in a way that creates emotional dependency.
Children's profiles must be private by default, with access to geolocation, cameras, and microphones disabled. Online services must also offer easy ways to block and mute other users, effective time management tools, and safe recommendation systems that children can control, adjust, and reset.
3. Privacy-Friendly Age Verification
Under the EU KIDS Act, online services and app stores must use age verification tools. They can, for example, use the EU Age Verification App, which does not store identity documents or biometric data, thus meeting the highest privacy protection standards. Member States will be closely involved in building this ecosystem.
In addition, social media and video-sharing platform providers will be required to verify age when a user opens a new account.
For existing accounts, providers will need to estimate the user's age based on reasonable indicators (e.g., the account creation date or credit card details).
4. Effective Implementation
The proposal reverses the burden of proof, making very large online platform providers responsible for demonstrating that their services are "safe by design."
They will be required to submit a compliance plan to the Commission and an independent auditor, who will have to thoroughly assess the new service, feature, or functionality. The Commission may request the provider to propose corrective measures if, based on the auditor's report, it considers that the compliance plan has any deficiencies.
The implementation framework builds on existing structures under the Digital Services Regulation and the Artificial Intelligence Regulation, making use of established mechanisms and existing expertise. The proposal introduces expedited enforcement procedures against providers in cases of non-compliance with the EU KIDS Act, in which case the Commission will have to conclude investigations within 90 days.
Next steps:
The legislative proposal has been submitted to the European Parliament and the Council, with a view to initiating the legislative process for its examination and adoption. Given the clear demand for urgent and comprehensive measures at Union level, it is essential that the act be adopted swiftly.
Background:
Today’s proposal is based on the report and recommendations of the co-chairs of the Task Force on Child Online Safety, Dr. Maria Melchior and Prof. Dr. Jörg M. Fegert. President von der Leyen convened the task force to gather expert opinion on the EU framework for children’s online safety.
The special group, composed of more than 60 experts—including representatives from civil society organizations, young people, parents, educators, child psychiatrists, public health specialists, neurologists, and technology experts—first met in March 2026 and held three sessions before the report was presented in July 2026.
Furthermore, the proposal reflects the growing number of Europeans calling for greater protection of children online: according to the special Eurobarometer survey on the Digital Decade 2026, 92% of Europeans consider the need to further strengthen the protection of children and young people online a key political priority, whether in the face of cyberbullying, exposure to harmful content, addictive design, or other risks.
