EU Proposes Under-13 Social Media Ban and Hour-a-Day Caps for Teens in New Kids Act

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the EU Kids Act during her State of the Union address in Strasbourg on Wednesday, September 16, 2026. Commission Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen laid out the details a day later, on September 17.

"No social media under the age of 13. No personal account under the age of 15," von der Leyen told the European Parliament, describing a tiered system in which 13-to-15-year-olds could hold parent-supervised "mini accounts." Gulf News reported those mini accounts would be capped at one hour of daily use, while 15-to-18-year-olds would get platform-built-in safety features instead of hard access limits.

Platforms have to prove they're safe, not the other way around

The legislation flips the usual regulatory model. "We are reversing the burden of proof. Now, platforms will have to prove to us that they are safe," von der Leyen said, according to reporting compiled by NewsCord. Under the draft law described by The Next Web, platforms and app stores will need age-assurance tools, including the Commission's own age-verification app, and must submit a compliance plan to both the Commission and an independent auditor before launching new services or features.

Fast-track investigations must wrap up within 90 days, and fines can hit 6% of a company's global annual revenue, The Next Web reported. The Commission would directly supervise the largest platforms and AI chatbots; national regulators would handle smaller services like video games.

The scope fight: is this just social media, or AI too?

Coverage of the law has been inconsistent. A comparison of 18 outlets by NewsCord found that seven of nine outlets it checked framed the Kids Act purely as a social media age limit, while the BBC specifically reported that the rules also cover AI chatbots, companions and games. Legal analysis site revera.legal confirms the broader scope, describing leaked draft texts that set age-based access tiers not just for social media and video platforms but for "AI chatbots and companions, and online games," alongside "safe by design" duties. Documents obtained by Reuters, cited by LADBible, likewise describe the plan as limiting children's access to AI platforms such as ChatGPT and gaming sites, not just Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

Where this came from

The Kids Act didn't come out of nowhere. Von der Leyen first flagged the idea in her September 2025 State of the Union address, citing Australia's under-16 social media ban, which took effect in December 2025. She then convened a Special Panel on Child Safety Online, more than 60 experts, which published its recommendations on July 13, 2026, calling for staged access by age: no screens under three, supervised use from three to twelve, growing autonomy from thirteen to eighteen.

The European Parliament had already gone further. In a resolution passed 483 to 92, with 86 abstentions, on November 26, 2025, MEPs called for a digital minimum age of 16 for social media, video platforms and AI companions, with a hard floor of 13. That's stricter than what the Commission ultimately proposed, meaning Parliament will likely push to toughen the draft during negotiations.

Not every member state is on board with age-based bans at all. Estonia opposes them outright, according to The Next Web. And on August 14, 2026, France's Conseil constitutionnel struck down a blanket under-15 social media ban that Paris had passed on its own, in Decision No. 2026-911 DC, a sign that even a national government eager to restrict access ran into legal limits the EU-wide law will need to navigate.

The competitiveness argument

Stanislas Marchand, former mobile gaming lead at French unicorn Voodoo, told Euronews that Europe "must prepare for the potential consequences by investing more urgently than ever in its homegrown AI capabilities." His concern: added compliance costs and age-verification mandates could hit smaller European AI developers harder than deep-pocketed U.S. rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic, at a moment when Europe's most prominent AI company, Mistral, is still dwarfed by both in valuation and investment.

Compliance costs and age-verification mandates could hit smaller European AI developers harder than deep-pocketed U.S. rivals. But it needs to be weighed against the Commission's own numbers. A Eurobarometer survey the Commission cited found 92% of Europeans see stronger online child protection as a top priority, according to The Next Web. Nothing in the available reporting settles whether tighter child-safety rules will meaningfully slow Europe's AI sector versus simply raising compliance costs Big Tech can absorb more easily than startups.

What happens now

The Kids Act is a proposal, not law. It goes to the European Parliament and all 27 member states, who have to agree on a final text before anything takes effect. The Commission wants speed; Parliament wants a higher age floor; Estonia wants no age bans at all. Member states also face a December 31, 2026 deadline under an earlier Commission recommendation to offer at least one age-verification tool, either standalone or built into the European Digital Identity Wallet, regardless of how the Kids Act negotiations shake out.