European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has unveiled one of the European Union’s most ambitious youth online safety measures yet — a social media ban for under-15s.
The EU Kids Act comes after over a dozen member states proposed social media bans of their own, putting pressure on the Commission to act. But the headline measure masks a much harder battle ahead: pushing the new regulation through the EU’s complex legislative process, enforcing age-verification and tackling the addictive design features at the heart of concerns over social media.
The proposal also adds yet another layer to Brussels ’ increasingly dense digital rulebook. That has left some analysts wondering why the EU didn’t use legislation it already had on the books — or in the pipeline — to protect children online, such as the Digital Services Act (DSA) and upcoming Digital Fairness Act (DFA).
“We are not lacking legal instruments,” said Jessica Galissaire, policy researcher at the European tech think 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.”
What’s in the Kids Act?
Under the proposal, children under 13 would be barred from using social media unless a parent opened an account for them and the platform could demonstrate that it’s a “child-friendly” service.
For 13- and 15-year-olds, parents could open accounts, but those would come with additional measures like parental oversight, a one-hour screen-time limit and restrictions on contact with strangers.
From 15, teenagers would be able to open their own accounts.
But the Kids Act goes beyond age restrictions and parental controls. It would also introduce “safety-by-design” requirements to reduce addictive design features, while requiring platforms to prove they are safe for users under 18.
Penalties would be steep, with companies facing fines of up to 6% of global turnover for failing to comply. The proposal also includes a fast-track 90-day enforcement procedure.
“Today, there is a robust body of evidence on the harm that social media does to a developing brain and personality, and too well parents see the effects of this,” said Von der Leyen during a press conference on Sept. 17. “To be very clear, an age limit does not mean letting tech companies off the hook for the content of the platform. Platforms have been playing fast and loose with our children’s mental health. Now we are reversing the burden of proof.”
It’s not only large social media platforms like Meta, Snapchat and TikTok that will be required to comply with the regulation. The regulation covers all online social networking services and video-sharing platform services as well as AI companions and conversational chatbots, according to the proposal. That also includes online gaming providers with platform-like social features.
By putting AI chatbots and companions alongside social media and gaming services, the EU is targeting a wider range of online services than in Australia, where under-16s have been barred from holding accounts on major platforms since December 2025.
But that broader scope could create new overlaps in the EU’s regulatory framework. “The inclusion of AI in this Kids Act is understandable, but confusing,” said Patrick Grady, head of European Tech at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.
Enforcement and speed
Throughout 2025 and 2026, EU countries have moved quickly to propose their own restrictions on social media use by minors. A French proposal, for example, was meant to take effect in September before being ruled unconstitutional.
The proliferation of national proposals raised concerns that the bloc could end up with a patchwork of more than a dozen different approaches to social media age restrictions.
But now Brussels faces the opposite problem: speed.
Due to the EU’s complex legislative procedure, the Kids Act could take up to two years to obtain final approval and become law, according to MEP Axel Voss (EPP, DE). That’s far slower than how many member states want to act.
“This choice reflects a political reality here, which is that for a lot of EU lawmakers the measure of success is passing more laws,” said Zach Meyers, the director of research at the Centre of on Regulation in Europe. “But there’s less thinking on how the pieces fit together.”
However, others thought that 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 (Renew, FR), who hoped it would be signed off in 18 months. “There are the conditions to go fast, both in the Parliament and the Council.”
Commission officials laid out a more optimistic timeline of 8 to 12 months.
Galissaire, Meyers and Grady said that the EU had plenty of other legislative tools it could have used instead of drafting an entirely new piece of regulation, such as Article 28 of the DSA, which covers protection for minors, or the upcoming DFA.
Commissioner Henna Virkkunen said in a press conference on Sept. 17 that the EU needed a more targeted piece of legislation to protect children. A Commission official also said that the EU would use the offices and staff already set up by the DSA and AI Act to enforce the Kids Act, rather than creating a completely new structure.
The overlapping regulatory environment has led to calls for the EU to develop an independent, EU-level body to enforce digital rules. That would allow for a more stable tech policy, according to Meyers. “It’s high time European institutions discuss this inevitable next step,” said Gallisaire.
One bright spot in the proposal, however, is the EU’s age verification system, according to Grady. He said the system is better designed than the Australian one, which has been bypassed by teens using virtual private networks. He said it doesn’t have as many privacy issues, is decentralized and allows people to verify themselves in-person without requiring IDs or credit cards.
However, the age-verification system is still not ready, with member states aiming to finalize it by the end of the year, according to Commission officials. Only 10 member states have already finalized their verification tools, the officials said.
Children’s groups left aside
The interests of one group were largely missing from the Kids Act: kids.
Simeon de Brouwer, a policy analyst with European Digital Rights, said the Kids Act would fail to address the root causes of harmful digital platforms.
“Not only will these measures severely impact young people whose parents are not supportive or available, they will also treat as under 13 … people of all ages who cannot submit themselves to the age-gates,” said de Brouwer.
It is now up to lawmakers in the European Parliament and the Council to thrash out a compromise. “Considering the clear demand for urgent and comprehensive action at Union level, it is essential that the act is adopted swiftly,” wrote the Commission.
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