The European Union has announced plans to introduce new rules restricting children's access to social media, with users under 15 facing limits on opening and using personal accounts.
The European Commission adopted the proposed EU Kids Act on September 17, 2026, as part of efforts to strengthen online safety for children across the bloc. Under the proposal, children under 13 would not be allowed to access social media platforms, while those aged 13 and 14 would only be able to use parent-created and supervised accounts with limited features.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the proposal would place greater responsibility on technology companies to demonstrate that their services are safe and appropriate for younger users.
The proposed rules would also introduce stronger safety requirements for teenagers. Platforms would be expected to use age-appropriate settings, provide parental controls and reduce features that can encourage prolonged or compulsive use, such as infinite scrolling and certain notification and reward systems.
The initiative covers major social media and video-sharing services, while the wider legislation also addresses online games and AI-powered chatbots or companions that could pose risks to younger users.
Age verification is expected to play an important role in enforcing the proposed restrictions. The Commission has been developing an age-verification system designed to confirm whether a person meets a particular age threshold without necessarily revealing their exact age to the platform.
The Commission also wants online services to adopt “safe by design” principles. These include stronger privacy settings, restrictions on contact from unknown users and easier ways for children to report harmful content.
The proposal still has to go through the EU legislative process, meaning the final rules could change before they take effect. The European Parliament and EU member states will need to consider and negotiate the legislation before it can become law.
The move comes as several European countries consider or introduce their own measures aimed at limiting children's exposure to potentially harmful online content. The EU-wide approach is intended to create more consistent rules across the bloc rather than leaving each country with significantly different age requirements.
If adopted, the EU Kids Act would represent a significant change in how social media companies manage younger users, placing greater emphasis on age verification, parental supervision and safety-focused platform design.