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Key points leaked: EU Commission wants to oblige social media to carry out age controls
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With the new EU Kids Act, the EU Commission wants to keep young people away from “risky” social media and video platforms. There should be comprehensive age checks online – including for adults.
After Australia in December 2025https://netzpolitik.org/2025/social-media-bann-in-australien-startet-ein...imposed on young people, the EU Commission wants to create similar regulations. The new EU Kids Act is intended to introduce mandatory age restrictions for social media and video platforms. To enforce this, people should have to prove their age. There should also be age controls for access to video games.
The EU Commission described the key points of the planned EU Kids Act in an 11-page paper, which was published by the media Politico and Euractiv, among othershttps://www.euractiv.com/content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/EURACTIV-CHILDS...have published. Tomorrow, Wednesday, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) will go into this in more detail in her State of the Union speech. The draft of the law is expected on Thursday.
- This is what the EU Commission is planning
- There is criticism of the plans
- This is what happens next
This is what the EU Commission is planning
The EU Kids Act could fundamentally change the freely accessible internet as we currently know it. There are supposed to be age controls for many popular services and games that adults also have to overcome. The project can be boiled down to five aspects:
1. EU-wide minimum age: According to the paper, young people in the EU will only be allowed to have their own account on “risky” social media and video platforms from the age of 15 in the future. Possible contacts with strangers, addiction-promoting mechanisms or personalized recommendation systems are considered risky. For 13 to 15 year olds, parents can set up an “introductory account” with “strictly limited functions” on the affected platforms. The paper does not name specific providers. With Australia as a model, at least platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube are likely to fall under the regulation.
2. Mandatory age checks: Because people under the age of 15 are not allowed to create their own accounts, the EU wants to require the affected platforms to carry out strict age controls. This means that all adults would also have to submit to the controls. The EU Commission wants to implement this with its self-developed age control app. Tools with comparable standards for accuracy and data protection should also be permitted. There should be no age controls for accounts that have existed for “many years” anyway. Computer game providers should also have to check the age of users. The respective age limit should be determined depending on the game.
3. Parental supervision: For those under 15, there should only be accounts on risky social media and video platforms monitored by parents or guardians. To do this, parents must first create their own account and undergo age checks themselves. Even on child-friendly platforms, young people under the age of 13 should only have accounts controlled by parents.
4. Safe design regulations: Social media and video platforms, but also online games and AI chatbots, should introduce mandatory measures to protect children and young people. The paper lists examples of this. For example, providers should forego addictive mechanisms such as infinite scrolling. Users should have more control over personalized recommendations. Young people's contributions should only be visible to others to a limited extent. And there should be more protection for young people against unwanted contact from strangers.
5. Reversal of the burden of proof: The current situation is that supervisory authorities only intervene when they learn that an online service may have violated child and youth protection rules. Appropriate procedures can be usedhttps://germany.representation.ec.europa.eu/nachrichten-und-veranstaltun...pull over years. In the future, online services should explain to the EU Commission in advance how they want to protect young people. The Commission should then decide within 30 days whether a new service or function can be rolled out in the EU.
However, according to the paper, this planned obligation to provide evidence only affects services that are classified as such according to the DSA (Digital Services Act).https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/list-designated-vlops-...large platforms or search enginesare classified, for example Instagram, TikTok or YouTube. In order to finance the new child protection supervision, the services should pay a fee.
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There is criticism of the plans
The plans for the EU Kids Act go back to a report bytwo health experts, commissioned by the EU Commissionhttps://netzpolitik.org/2026/ban-fuer-unter-13-jaehrige-von-der-leyen...for child and youth protection onlinehave worked out. To do this, they consulted various experts, but did not strive for consensus. However, the report has technical deficiencies and some arguments are inconclusive, as we have already saidhttps://netzpolitik.org/2026/bericht-mit-maengeln-frischer-ans...July analyzed. For example, the experts do not provide any clarity about the purpose of age checks.
In places, the report suggests that age controls are a kind of protective shield, meaning that they can effectively protect young people from dangers online. Elsewhere, the experts present the controls more as a signal. Accordingly, minors would definitely “find a way” to “get around” age barriers. According to the report, they would only be effective if “social attitudes” changed. In its key points on the EU Kids Act, the EU Commission apparently assumes that age controls can keep young people away from potentially dangerous places on the Internet.
One convened by the Family MinistryGerman expert committee18 experts could not agree in advance on a clear yes to the social media ban. Instead, the panel has twohttps://netzpolitik.org/2026/jugendschutz-recommendations-expertinnen-kommi...presented: Either a legal minimum age of 13 for social media accounts - or differentiated restrictions depending on the service and risk instead of a fixed age limit.
https://netzpolitik.org/2026/alterskontrollen-der-pudding-wird-uns-auf-d...Pudding will fall on our feet
TheGerman Ethics Councilin turn, has already spoken out clearly against a social media ban for minors in an 87-page statementhttps://netzpolitik.org/2026/absicherungn-statt-aussperr-deutscher-ethikr...the dangers of age checkswarned. According to the law, the 26 members of the council should “represent scientific, medical, theological, philosophical, ethical, social, economic and legal concerns in a special way” and represent a “plural spectrum of opinions”.
Among other things, the Ethics Council wrote about age controls:
The technologies are instruments for distinguishing and treating user groups differently. As such, they can also be used for other purposes, both to restrict access to other groups and to other content, such as sexual education materials or even those that are politically undesirable. Due to these wide range of possible uses, it cannot be ruled out that age determination technologies are misused as a censorship tool.
The one touted by the EU Commission in its key pointshttps://netzpolitik.org/2026/facisscan-und-handy-zwang-von-der-leyen-...The German Ethics Council expressly rejected (“mini-wallet”) – as did the German expert committee.
There was also a clear warning about age checks in March from more than400 international researchersfrom IT security and data protection. In onehttps://netzpolitik.org/2026/forschende-schläge-alarm-staats-sollen-so...letterThey rejected the introduction of age controls without further research. This is “dangerous and socially unacceptable,” according to the experts from 29 countries. There is a lack of a clear understanding of what these controls can do to the “security, privacy, equality” and “autonomy” of all people.
TheEU Commissionin turn, stumbles over the goals she has set for herself. In the key points for the EU Kids Act, she lists a number of high demands on age controls. Translated from English: “Accuracy, reliability, robustness, privacy, security, non-discrimination and low intrusion.” The problem: Ithttps://netzpolitik.org/2026/alterskontrollen-der-pudding-wird-uns-auf-d...no technology, which can equally meet these requirements.
Accurate and robust age controls require evidence that a person is actually an adult. You also need proof that someone has not stolen the proof of age from another person. This is only possible with compromises in terms of privacy, accessibility and participation, among other things. Tools such as the EU's age control app can discriminate against people who do not have documents compatible with the app.
This is what happens next
Ursula von der Leyen and EU Commissioner Henna Virkkunen are scheduled to meet on ThursdayDraft for the EU Kids Act imagine how thathttps://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/eu-is-set-propose-ban-social-me...Reuters reports. Stand nextnegotiationsin the EU Parliament and EU Council.
In addition to the EU Kids Act, the EU Commission is planning further regulations for the protection of children and young people online. Among other things, there is a draft for aDigital Fairness Act(“https://netzpolitik.org/2026/digital-fairness-act-eu-kommission-erwaegt-...Fairness Act") is planned. It is intended to create basic standards for consumers of all ages. TheAudiovisual Media Services Directive(https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02010L0013-2...) should also get an update. Here, the EU regulates, among other things, age controls for video platforms.
Largely under the radar of major news media, the Commission, Council and Parliament continue to negotiatehttps://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/DE/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52022PC02...“Ordinance on the prevention and combating of sexual abuse of children”, short:CSA Regulation. This is not just about the widely criticizedhttps://netzpolitik.org/tag/chatkontrolle/">Chat control, ratherhttps://netzpolitik.org/2026/trilog-zu-alterskontrollen-warning-vor-ausw...about age checksfor services with chat functions and software marketplaces such as app stores. As early as January 2026, EU MP Birgit Sippel (SPD) warned of a “requirement of ID for large parts of the internet, especially for adults.”
those affectedOnline platformsare likely to lobby vigorously to ensure theirBusiness modelsagainst unpleasant regulationprotect. After all, addiction-promoting mechanisms and personalized recommendations are there to bind people to a platform for as long as possible so that they consume a lot of advertisements. This is cash money for the platform operators. Inhttps://netzpolitik.org/2026/australien-zieh-rechner-fuenf-erste-lehren-...and in thehttps://netzpolitik.org/2026/jugendschutz-im-sonderangebot-meta-kauft-si...Tech companies are trying to limit financial losses through child and youth protection.
Several member states are already working to increase the pressure on the EUnational regulationsfor social media bans, includinghttps://netzpolitik.org/2026/mehr-als-social-media-ban-familienminist...,https://netzpolitik.org/ticker/ticker-news-von-golem-vom-15-09-2026/">Austriaandhttps://netzpolitik.org/ticker/ticker-news-von-le-monde-vom-15-09-2026/".... Some of the plans are not compatible with current EU law. The new EU Kids Act could remove such hurdles.
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Become part of this unique community and support our public interest-oriented, advertising- and tracking-free journalismhttps://netzpolitik.org/spenden/?via=rss">nowwith a donation.
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