A GUIDE TO THE EUROPEAN PROPOSAL

The EU KIDS Act,
explained.

Age-appropriate access. Safer digital experiences.
Stronger protection for children online.

Understand what the proposal means for games, social platforms and AI services—and how age assurance, parental consent and privacy fit together.

Understand the Act Who is affected?

The legal status

This is a legislative proposal, COM(2026) 681 final, 2026/0286(COD). The European Parliament and Council must consider it before it can become law. The dates and obligations below describe the proposed text, not duties already created by KIDS. Existing DSA, GDPR and other applicable obligations continue.

The proposed age rules

Service	Proposed approach	Key reference
Risk-triggered social and video services	Independent accounts from 15. Limited guardian-created accounts for ages 13–14, with guardian tools always active, a maximum of one hour per day and contact controls.	Article 6
Child-specific video services	A narrow exception for ages 3–12 through the guardian’s own account, subject to impact assessment, protective features and a one-hour daily ceiling.	Article 7
Online games	Under-13 access must be enabled and controlled through guardian tools. The social-account ban is not automatically the gaming rule.	Article 15
AI companions and general chatbots	Under-13 access through guardian tools, plus child-specific design and evaluation requirements.	Article 14

Safety remains relevant after entry

Article 8 proposes protective design by default. Covered providers would derogate from these defaults only after establishing adulthood through the applicable age-assurance route. Different articles specify the controls for different service categories.

For social and video services, Articles 9–13 address compulsive use, recommendations, safe settings, contact and transactions. Article 15 incorporates selected provisions for games. Article 14 sets requirements for covered AI systems. The obligations therefore depend on the service’s functions.

Timing and existing accounts

Article 43 proposes general application six months after entry into force, with exceptions for Articles 5, 33 and 35. Entry into force would follow Official Journal publication by 20 days. These are relative draft periods; there is no fixed KIDS compliance date yet.

Article 6(4) proposes checks of existing accounts within six months after application. Article 32 contains high-confidence exceptions. Existing under-15 accounts and accounts whose age cannot be established face disabling under Article 6(4); a compliant guardian-created route needs separate handling.