The European Union wants to ban chatbots and online games for kids under 15, not just social media

The European Union is proposing a new law that would ban children under 15 from using social media, video-sharing platforms, chatbots, and online games, with certain supervised exceptions, according to Reuters. The proposed EU Kids Act aims to restrict children's access to various online services, with different rules for varying age groups.

Individuals aged 15 and over would be allowed to create their own accounts, while parents could set up introductory social media and video-sharing accounts for 13- and 14-year-olds with limited contacts and strict time limits. Children aged 3 to 12 would only be permitted to use child-friendly services, with all accounts controlled by their parents. Those under 3 years old would have no access to these platforms.

The law would also require age verification when setting up social media and video-sharing accounts, and before downloading online games. Companies would need to avoid designing addictive features and harmful algorithms, similar to ongoing issues with many digital platforms. Violations of these rules could result in substantial fines, up to 6% of a company's annual sales.

For large tech firms like Meta, which generated $200.97 billion in revenue in 2025, this could mean fines of around $12.1 billion. The proposed law extends beyond traditional social media companies to include app stores and AI companions.

The EU's crackdown on TikTok and Meta over addictive algorithms and child safety concerns has been the driving force behind this proposed legislation. In May, Brussels focused on features such as endless scrolling, autoplay, and push notifications, questioning whether companies were doing enough to prevent younger children from accessing their platforms. Age verification is already part of the EU's efforts to enhance child safety.

The EU Commission claims its age-checking app is ready for deployment, and has urged member states to make it available across the bloc by the end of the year. This would facilitate the implementation of the proposed restrictions on digital services. Similar measures have also been introduced in the United States, with California recently enforcing new regulations that ban addictive social media features for children under 16, including autoplay and personalized algorithmic feeds.

The state has also mandated independent child safety audits and annual risk assessments for large social media companies, with penalties of up to $1 million per child for negligent harm caused.