Now the proposal has become official, having been presented by Ursula von der Leyen in her State of the Union speech on September 16, 2026: Europe is also firmly committed to Children under 13 are prohibited from using social networks.
The new rules should be common across the 27 EU countries, but the project still needs to be discussed and approved by member states before it can become operational.
Use of social networks is prohibited under 13 years of age and accounts are limited to 15
According to the plan laid out by the President of the European Commission, Children under 13 should not use the Internet. For those between the ages of 13 and 15, a “mini account” supervised by a parent or guardian is provided with reduced functionality and a time limit for use. Between 15 and 18 years, platforms should ensure clear “security by design” systems and implement measures aimed at reducing exposure to harmful content and features considered potentially problematic. The technical details of the proposal must be determined during the subsequent legislative process. Europe’s intervention follows several national and international measures. Spain and Portugal have introduced or proposed restrictions for minorsand Australia and New Zealand have also adopted similar measures. However, in France, a law banning children under 15 was recently struck down by the Constitutional Court for reasons related to fundamental freedoms.
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Today, many platforms have set the minimum age for creating an account to 13, but European authorities have repeatedly questioned the effectiveness of systems used to prevent access by minors. Therefore, the new proposal would move the issue up Common regulatory framework for all EU countries.
However, there is no shortage of criticism of this approach. Some digital rights organizations believe Setting a minimum age does not affect the platform’s business practices and mechanisms designed to increase time spent online. Therefore, the comparison will also involve the ways in which social networks and other platforms have had to modify their services.
The proposal must now go through normal European procedures with the participation of member states and EU institutions. Von der Leyen also linked the topic of cybersecurity to the artificial intelligence debate, signaling the commission’s willingness to cooperate with Canada and the United Kingdom on model assessments, safety and early warning systems for state-of-the-art artificial intelligence technology.
