The European Union is preparing sweeping new rules that could restrict how children under 15 use social media, AI chatbots, video platforms and online games, moving child-safety regulation directly into the design of digital products.
Reuters reported that the proposed EU Kids Act would cover social media, AI chatbots, video-sharing platforms and online games, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and technology chief Henna Virkkunen leading the initiative.
The legislation remains a proposal. Reuters noted that its details may change and that the draft would still need negotiations with EU member states and the European Parliament before becoming law.
Access would change according to age
The draft would create different levels of access rather than applying one rule to every child.
Reuters reported that children under three would have no access to covered services, while those aged three to 12 could use parent-controlled, child-friendly services. Children aged 13 and 14 would be able to use introductory accounts under parental controls, while teenagers from age 15 could have their own accounts.
Euractiv similarly reported that the draft proposes an EU-wide minimum age of 15 for an autonomous account and applies to what it calls social-media “plus” services. Those include social networks, video-sharing platforms, risky online games, and AI chatbots and companions.
Educational services, public-authority platforms and industrial or office-focused AI products would fall outside those restrictions, according to Euractiv.
Infinite scrolling could become a regulatory issue
The proposal goes beyond determining who can open an account.
Euractiv reported that services classified as safe by design would need to avoid addictive design features such as infinite scrolling, regulate recommender content and provide safer account settings.
Reuters said covered companies would also need age-verification systems, effective parental controls and mechanisms allowing children to report harmful material. The proposal would additionally require designated services to pay a supervisory fee supporting enforcement.
That turns features normally handled by product, UX and growth teams into potential regulatory requirements.
Recommendation algorithms determine which content appears next. Infinite scrolling determines whether a natural stopping point exists. Age verification affects identity systems and data collection. AI companion restrictions determine which conversational experiences companies can make available to minors.
Political pressure on child safety is growing
The proposed legislation comes amid increasing pressure from European governments for bloc-wide rules.
French President Emmanuel Macron has urged the Commission to introduce European legislation restricting social-media access for children under 15 after a French proposal was struck down by the country’s Constitutional Council. Euractiv reported that Macron called for a “European legislative text” applying across the Union.
Virkkunen has separately said online platforms must assume responsibility for child safety, while EU enforcement has already focused on services including X, Shein and Snapchat.
The broader shift matters because child protection is increasingly moving upstream.
Instead of regulating only harmful posts after they appear, policymakers are beginning to scrutinize how software encourages engagement, recommends content, verifies age and builds persistent relationships with young users.
For builders, the EU Kids Act could therefore turn child safety from a moderation problem into a product-architecture requirement.
