European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has outlined plans for a new EU “KIDS Act” that would ban social media for under-13s and restrict accounts for children aged 13 to 15, in remarks before a UN panel.
Speaking at a UN high-level dialogue on protecting children’s rights in the age of artificial intelligence, von der Leyen said a July Eurobarometer survey found 92% of Europeans believe more should be done to protect children online.
Young people in Europe spend an average of four to six hours a day on screens, she said, adding that those who started using screens before the age of 10 spend about seven to eight hours online daily, according to the European Commission’s account of her speech published on Tuesday.
Von der Leyen said online platforms are designed to “capture attention” and “monetise” it, and she referred to a “Meta settlement” as evidence that companies have not protected children sufficiently.
She also disclosed that the Commission convened a panel of experts for six months — including civil society, parents’ organisations and young people — to consider whether new legislation was needed and what it should include.
What the EU KIDS Act would do
Von der Leyen said the KIDS Act would set a minimum age of 13 for social media access and ban “personal accounts” for children under 15, the Commission said.
Under the proposal, children aged 13 and 14 would be limited to “mini accounts” set up and supervised by parents, with restricted features and a time limit of 60 minutes a day, although parents would be able to reduce that time further.
A central element would be shifting responsibility on to tech platforms to show their services are safe for children, von der Leyen said, contrasting that approach with current EU rules where the Commission assesses whether algorithms are harming children.
She cited existing EU legislation — the Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Markets Act (DMA) — and said investigations and enforcement can take years under current processes.
