EU Kids Act Proposes Sweeping Social Media Bans for Minors

The European Commission has introduced the EU Kids Act, a proposal to strictly limit minors' access to social media. According to reporting from Engadget, the law would ban social media for children under 13, though they could still use "specially designed child-friendly video-sharing services" via guardian-managed accounts. Minors aged 13 and 14 would be restricted to supervised "sub-accounts" managed by guardians, and children would only be able to create their own social media accounts upon turning 15.

EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen stated the move addresses the harm social media causes to developing personalities and brains, citing issues such as anxiety, sleep loss, and self-harm. Engadget reports the act would force platforms to eliminate addictive features, including infinite scroll, nighttime push notifications, and recommendation algorithms that lead users into "rabbit holes" of harmful content. Additionally, AI chatbots would be disabled by default to prevent emotional dependency.

Implementation remains a significant challenge. Wired reports that age verification is a primary hurdle, noting that children in Australia have successfully circumvented similar under-16 bans. While the EU suggests using "reasonable proxies" like credit card details or a newly developed EU age verification app, Joanna Conway of Norton Rose Fulbright told Wired that accurate age checks without infringing on privacy is difficult. Furthermore, Arnav Joshi of Ashurst Perkins Coie warned Wired that "God-mode style" parental access could chill how children use services and violate their privacy rights.

Legal obstacles already exist; Engadget and Wired both note that France's top court recently blocked a similar proposal, ruling it infringed upon freedom of expression. If passed, the act would affect approximately 450 million people. Enforcement would leverage the Digital Services Act (DSA) framework, which Engadget notes can carry penalties of up to six percent of a company's global annual turnover.