EU Moves Toward Law Banning Under-13s From Social Media

The European Commission has released a detailed roadmap for the EU KIDS Act, a proposal that would ban children younger than 13 from having social media accounts and set a bloc-wide minimum age of 15 for standard account creation. Children aged 13 to 15 would only be allowed access through parent-managed "mini accounts," which would come with strict controls, including limits on social contacts and a cap of one hour of screen time per day.

Under the plan, children under 13 would be entirely blocked from social media, though parents could use provider-built, child-friendly video sharing tools on their own devices. Platform providers would carry the responsibility for making these tools simple and safe to use. More broadly, the proposal introduces "safe by design" requirements for social media, online games, video sharing services and AI chatbots used by anyone under 18, including a ban on addictive features and recommendation systems that can draw minors into harmful content loops.

The proposal still needs approval from the European Parliament and EU member states before becoming law, but given widespread support across Europe for restricting young teens' social media use, it has a strong chance of passing. The move follows similar age restriction efforts already underway or planned in Australia, Spain, France, China, Turkey and the UK.