The European Commission is preparing to unveil a sweeping new law, called the EU Kids Act, that will force social media platforms to verify the age of every user — including adults — using government-backed digital identification.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed the plan during her State of the Union address in Strasbourg this week, saying: “No personal account under the age of 15. No social media under the age of 13.” She added that Europe would no longer accept “addictive features” or children “drawn into ever more extreme content.”
Under the proposal, children under three will be barred entirely from social media and similar high-risk platforms. From ages three to 13, children may only use child-friendly services under adult supervision. Those aged 13 to 15 can hold only “mini accounts,” set up and monitored by parents, with limited features and time restrictions. From 15 to 18, teenagers can use platforms without parental consent, but strong safety-by-design protections will still apply.
To enforce these age limits, companies such as Meta, TikTok and Google will need to verify the age of every new user. This will likely be done through an EU-wide age-verification app, or approved national alternatives, that confirm only whether a user is above a certain age — without revealing other personal details to the platform. Existing account holders will also face “proportionate” checks, for example based on how long they’ve had the account. Crucially, this pushes services like TikTok and Facebook onto the same verification standard normally reserved for gambling or banking apps — a major shift for ordinary social media use.
This is a significant departure for countries like Ireland, which does not have a tradition of mandatory national ID cards. Civil liberties advocates have long expressed concern that requiring state identification to use everyday communication tools could allow greater control over public discourse, even though officials insist the ID checks will preserve user anonymity from the platforms themselves. There is also a practical loophole: tech-savvy children could still bypass the age check using a VPN to make it appear they are signing up from another country.
The law’s scope goes beyond social media. It also covers video-sharing platforms, online games, and AI chatbots or “companions” that offer minors mental health or personal advice, since these are considered to pose similar risks. Educational services and AI tools built for office or industrial use are excluded.
Beyond age limits, the draft law bans manipulative design features aimed at keeping children hooked, including infinite scrolling, artificial notifications, and reward systems like “streaks.” Recommendation algorithms must be redesigned to avoid pulling children into so-called “rabbit holes” of harmful content. Minors’ accounts must be private by default, strangers must be blocked from contacting them, and reporting harmful content must be made simple. Parents will also be offered dedicated parental-control tools.
On enforcement, the Commission wants to shift the burden of proof onto tech companies themselves. The largest platforms — those already classified as high-risk under the EU’s Digital Services Act — will need Commission approval before rolling out new features that could affect children, and will be charged a supervisory fee to help fund enforcement.
The proposal follows mounting pressure from member states. France, Greece, Austria, Denmark, Spain, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Poland and the Netherlands have all been considering or advancing their own national social media restrictions, raising fears of a fragmented patchwork of rules across the bloc. France’s own law banning social media for under-15s was struck down by its Constitutional Council in August over concerns about fundamental freedoms, prompting President Emmanuel Macron to push for a unified EU-wide approach instead.
“Europe has the power to act. It is us who decide our rules, not big tech,” von der Leyen said.
The bill is expected to be formally published this week, but will still need to be negotiated with EU governments and the European Parliament before it can become law — meaning the final text, including exactly how age verification will work, could still change significantly.
