The European Union is moving toward a common set of age-based rules for social media as Brussels steps up efforts to protect children from online harms. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the planned approach during her State of the Union address on September 16, saying the Commission would formally propose the EU Kids Act on September 17. Under the proposal, children younger than 13 would not be allowed to use social media, while those aged 13 to under 15 would have access only through parent-managed accounts with restricted features and time limits.

The proposal is part of a broader effort to make online platforms more responsible for the environments they create for minors. It is not yet an adopted EU law and will still need to go through the bloc’s legislative process.

What are the proposed age limits?

The plan uses different protections for different age groups.

Children under 13 would be barred from social media under the proposed framework.

For those aged 13 to under 15, platforms would allow only “mini accounts” created and supervised by parents or guardians. These accounts would come with limited functionality and a one-hour-a-day time restriction, according to von der Leyen’s address.

Teenagers aged 15 to 17 would be subject to stricter safety-by-design requirements. Platforms would be expected to build protections into their products rather than relying solely on users or parents to manage risks.

Von der Leyen summarized the approach in her speech as: “No social media under the age of 13. No personal account under the age of 15.”

Why is the EU targeting younger users?

The proposal comes amid growing concern in Europe about how social media affects children and teenagers.

In her speech, von der Leyen highlighted concerns including sleep disruption, anxiety, self-harm, cyberbullying, exposure to increasingly extreme content and the misuse of girls’ photographs to create AI-generated sexualized images.

The European Commission had already convened a special panel on child safety online. Its work examined age-appropriate access to social media and other digital services, along with ways to strengthen protections for minors.

A Commission survey published in June also reported that young people in the EU spend an average of 4.5 hours online on school days and more than six hours on weekends, while identifying a link between the age at which children begin using social media and overall screen time.

What would “supervised access” mean?

The proposed system for 13- to 14-year-olds is designed to give parents a greater role in deciding how children use social platforms.

Instead of allowing a standard personal account, younger teenagers would receive restricted mini accounts that parents set up and supervise.

The Commission’s proposed model also includes a one-hour daily limit. The details of how that limit would be technically enforced across different platforms, devices and countries are expected to become clearer when the EU Kids Act is formally presented.

This means the proposal is about more than simply checking a user’s birthday. It would require platforms to distinguish between age groups and apply different levels of access and protection.

What happens to addictive features?

The EU is also taking aim at platform design.

Von der Leyen said Europe should not have to accept features designed to keep users engaged for long periods, including addictive design patterns and systems that can push children toward increasingly extreme content.

The broader philosophy is to shift more responsibility onto technology companies.

Rather than assuming that children and parents must prove that a platform is harmful, the Commission wants platforms to demonstrate that their services are safe for minors.

That approach could have implications beyond social media, particularly as policymakers examine recommendation algorithms, online games and AI-powered services.

Could platforms face heavy fines?

The planned framework is expected to include substantial penalties for companies that fail to comply.

Reports on the draft have indicated that fines could reach as much as 6% of a provider’s annual turnover. The exact enforcement structure should become clearer once the Commission publishes the legislative text.

The EU already has significant enforcement powers through the Digital Services Act, which requires large online platforms to address systemic risks and take specific measures relating to minors.

The new Kids Act would add another layer of regulation focused specifically on age-appropriate access and safety.

EU already has an age-verification system

One of the biggest practical challenges will be determining a user’s age without creating unnecessary privacy risks.

The European Commission has been developing an age-verification application that can allow people to prove they meet an age threshold without revealing additional personal information. The system can be adapted for age categories such as 13 and above and is designed to work with the EU’s Digital Identity framework.

That technology could become relevant to enforcing the proposed age restrictions, although the final Kids Act will determine exactly how platforms and national authorities implement the rules.

This is still a proposal, not a ban in force

The language around the announcement is important.

The EU has not yet put a blanket social media ban for under-13s into force across its 27 member states. Von der Leyen announced the policy direction and said the Commission would propose the EU Kids Act on September 17.

The proposal will need to proceed through the EU’s legislative process, meaning its provisions could change before becoming binding law.

The bloc is therefore beginning the process of creating common rules rather than immediately changing what every child in Europe can do online.

How does this compare with existing national efforts?

The EU’s move follows a wider international debate over children’s access to social media.

Australia has already moved toward restricting social media access for people under 16, while several European governments have explored national age limits or parental-consent requirements.

France, in particular, has been pursuing its own legislation concerning minors and social networks. A French draft notified through the EU’s technical-regulations system included restrictions on access for people under 15, with different provisions depending on the type of platform.

The EU-wide approach could reduce the patchwork of rules emerging across individual member states, although the precise balance between national laws and EU requirements remains to be worked out.

What this could mean for Big Tech

For technology companies, the proposal could require significant changes to account creation, age verification, recommendation systems, parental controls and product design.

Platforms would also have to consider how restrictions work across countries with different national identification systems and privacy rules.

The political message from Brussels is clear: protecting children should increasingly be built into the architecture of online services rather than left mainly to parents to manage.

Whether the proposed framework can be enforced consistently across the EU, while protecting privacy and avoiding easy workarounds, will be among the most important questions as the legislation moves forward.