Brussels wants to restrict under-15s from social media, AI chatbots, video-sharing platforms and online games under sweeping new child-protection rules.
According to Euractiv the plan forms part of the proposed EU Kids Act, according to internal European Commission documents. It would impose age checks, parental controls and restrictions on addictive design.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen are expected to present the legislation on 17 September 2026. Von der Leyen could reveal details during her State of the Union address on 16 September.
The rules would cover services including Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, TikTok, Google’s YouTube, and AI chatbots such as ChatGPT, as Brussels turns its regulatory screwdriver a few more times.
“The Union’s approach should allow minors to benefit from the huge potential of digital services, while protecting them from abuse and exploitation. It needs to limit the access of tech companies to our children, and not the other way around,” the Commission document said.
Euractiv reported that the rules would extend to what the Commission calls social media “plus” services. These include social networks, video-sharing platforms, risky online games, AI chatbots and AI companions. Educational services, online services operated by public authorities, industrial AI systems and AI office products would be excluded from those restrictions.
Access would be staggered by age rather than applying the same rules to every child.
Teenagers aged 15 and older could create autonomous accounts where services meet the Commission’s safety requirements. Children aged 13 and 14 could use introductory social media and video-sharing accounts opened by parents. Those accounts would include parental controls, limited contacts, and stricter restrictions.
Children aged three to 12 would only be permitted to use child-friendly services through accounts fully controlled by their parents. Children younger than three would get no access. Social media and video-sharing platforms would have to verify a user’s age when a new account was created.
“The EU Kids Act will oblige providers of social media services and video-sharing platforms to perform age verification when a user opens a new account,” the document obtained by Euractiv said.
Companies could use the EU’s age-verification tool or another system developed by public authorities. Online gaming services would also face age checks. The Commission wants to prevent children from accessing games regarded as risky without proving their age. Platforms would have to avoid addictive design features, including infinite scrolling, while tightening recommender systems, default account settings and access to potentially harmful material.
The proposal would require effective parental controls and straightforward methods allowing children to report harmful content.
Tech companies covered by the legislation would have to pay a supervisory fee to help fund Commission enforcement, meaning Silicon Valley gets the privilege of helping Brussels pay for the people watching it.
Many social media companies already claim a minimum sign-up age of at least 13, although the Commission clearly thinks ticking an age box has not been a triumph of child protection.
The legislation must then survive negotiations between EU member states and the European Parliament before it can become law.
