EU is set to propose ban on social media and AI chatbots for under-15s

On September 14, the European Union plans to propose a comprehensive ban on social media, video sharing platforms, AI chatbots, and online games for individuals under the age of 15. This move is part of an EU Kids Act, which aims to safeguard children's health and safety from the potential dangers posed by major online platforms such as Meta's Facebook and Instagram, TikTok, Google's YouTube, and ChatGPT.

The proposal, outlined in a document seen by Reuters, will be presented by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Technology Chief Henna Virkkunen on Thursday. The EU's approach seeks to enable minors to benefit from the vast potential of digital services while simultaneously protecting them from abuse and exploitation. The plan seeks to restrict the access of tech companies to children and instead make them the primary focus.

Under the proposal, companies will have to pay a supervisory fee to fund the enforcement and supervision of the regulations. Children aged 15 and above can create their own accounts, while those aged 13 to 14 can obtain introductory accounts for social media and video-sharing platforms under parental supervision with limited contacts and strict time limits.

Children aged 3 to 12 will have fully controlled accounts, limited to child-friendly services with strict safety standards, while under-3s will have no access to these services.

The draft proposal mandates that companies avoid addictive designs and harmful feeds, provide tools enabling children to easily report harmful content, and implement effective parental control tools. Social media and video-sharing platforms will be responsible for verifying the age of users upon account creation, while online gaming platforms will have to verify children's ages before they can download games.