The EU Kids Act would restrict children’s access to social media, online games and other digital services during the night and school hours, as part of a broader European Commission proposal presented on Thursday, 17 September. The legislation would also ban social media accounts for children under 13 and require parental supervision for users aged 13 and 14.
The proposal establishes a common European framework for protecting minors online and places new obligations directly on technology companies. The European Commission says platforms would have to demonstrate that their services are safe by design, rather than leaving parents and children primarily responsible for managing online risks. European Commission’s EU KIDS Act announcement
The EU Kids Act would protect sleep and school time
One of the most significant parts of the EU Kids Act concerns when children can use digital platforms.
The Commission’s official explanation says services used by minors must introduce effective time limits and usage breaks specifically designed to protect children’s sleep and school time. Platforms would also be prohibited from using push notifications during sleeping hours or other design features intended to repeatedly draw children back into an app. European Commission’s explanation of the KIDS Act
A draft of the legislation obtained by Danish public broadcaster DR before its formal presentation provides further details. According to the document, platforms should protect at least eight consecutive hours of core sleep between 22:00 and 08:00 and prevent minors from using covered services during the hours when they would normally be at school.
Push notifications would also be blocked during those periods.
The measures are intended to be difficult for children themselves to bypass. According to the draft cited by DR, existing time-management tools are often ineffective because minors can simply disable or override them.
Children aged 13 and 14 would get supervised mini accounts
The proposal introduces different rules depending on age.
Children under 13 would not be allowed to have social media accounts. From 13 until their 15th birthday, they could instead use limited “mini accounts” created and supervised by a parent or guardian.
These accounts would include reduced functionality and a maximum usage period of one hour per day. Parents would also receive controls over settings and contacts.
From the age of 15, teenagers could create their own accounts, although services used by anyone under 18 would still have to comply with the Commission’s safe-design requirements.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen outlined the approach during her State of the Union address on Wednesday, saying that different age groups would receive different levels of protection. Von der Leyen’s 2026 State of the Union address
The Commission says European teenagers aged 13 to 18 spend an average of 4.5 hours a day on screens on school days and 6.1 hours at weekends. It also reports that 38% of children surveyed have experienced difficulties falling asleep because of social media. European Commission overview of the KIDS Act
The rules go beyond TikTok and Instagram
The legislation is not limited to conventional social networks such as TikTok, Instagram or Facebook.
Its safety-by-design requirements would also apply to video-sharing platforms, online games, AI chatbots and app stores where children can encounter risks related to communication, addictive design or spending mechanisms.
For online games, this could include services in which children communicate with other players or encounter mechanisms such as loot boxes and randomised rewards. The Commission says app stores would also have to provide age ratings and prevent minors from accessing applications considered unsuitable for their age.
AI services are another focus. AI companions and chatbots aimed at or accessible to minors would have to meet additional safety requirements, and chatbots integrated into platforms or games could not automatically be activated for children. European Commission’s KIDS Act Q&A
The proposal would also prohibit several mechanisms designed to maximise engagement among minors, including infinite scrolling, endless autoplay and certain reward or streak systems.
Denmark would prefer a higher age limit
Denmark has broadly welcomed the European initiative, although the Danish government wants stricter limits.
Minister for Research, Education and Digitalisation (Forsknings-, uddannelses- og digitaliseringsminister) Christina Egelund told DR that protecting children’s sleep through restrictions on digital services was reasonable.
The Danish government has previously supported a general social media age limit of 15, rather than the Commission’s model allowing supervised access for 13- and 14-year-olds.
For Copenhagen, however, a common European framework also has advantages that national legislation cannot easily provide. Digital platforms operate across borders, meaning rules adopted at EU level could impose the same requirements on major technology companies throughout the single market.
Platforms would have to prove they are safe
The legislation also changes the underlying approach to regulating digital services used by children.
Instead of regulators having to demonstrate that a particular feature has harmed minors, providers would be required to show that their products are appropriate and safe for children.
Large platforms would have to submit compliance plans and undergo independent audits before operating under the new framework. According to the Commission, violations could lead to fines of up to 6% of a company’s total worldwide annual turnover. European Commission’s detailed KIDS Act explanation
Von der Leyen described the principle during her State of the Union speech as reversing the burden of proof, arguing that the question should not simply be when children are allowed onto social networks, but under what conditions platforms are allowed to reach children.
The EU Kids Act remains a legislative proposal. It will now have to be negotiated by the European Parliament and the EU’s member states before it can enter into force.
If adopted without major changes, the legislation would create one of the EU’s broadest sets of rules governing children’s digital lives, extending the debate over social media age limits into gaming, artificial intelligence and the basic design of the services children use every day.
