EU proposes restricting children’s access to social media and chatbots — The Japan Times
The European Union in Strasbourg, France, has presented a draft law providing for stricter age restrictions on children’s access to social media, online games and artificial intelligence-based assistants. The initiative would also require companies to ensure platforms are safe before minors begin using them, The Japan Times reports.
Age restrictions and parental controls
Under the draft, users aged 15 and older would be able to create social media accounts independently. Children aged 13–14 are proposed to be allowed to use so-called mini-accounts through the profiles of their parents or guardians.
Such accounts would have additional safeguards, including a screen-time limit of one hour per day. Parents or guardians would be able to manage minors’ access to video services, other services and time spent online. On the eve, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen stated her intention to ban social media use for children under 13 and allow limited supervised access up to age 15.
Requirements for platforms
The draft, called the EU KIDS Act, provides for a ban on features that may cause addiction to platforms. These include infinite scrolling and push notifications during children’s sleeping hours.
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For minors, it is also proposed to ban recommendation feeds based on profiling, reward mechanisms and unwanted contact from strangers. Children’s profiles must be private by default, while geolocation, the camera and microphone must be disabled. Platforms must make it possible to easily block or mute other users.
Separate requirements will apply to chatbots and AI companions: they must not imitate interpersonal relationships in a way that creates emotional dependency in children. The EU cited data on the harm social media causes to children’s physical and mental well-being, as well as risks from predators, fraudsters and bullies.
Checks and fines
Companies must submit compliance plans to the European Commission and an independent auditor. The auditor will assess each new service or feature, and if the measures proposed by a company do not satisfy it, the European Commission will be able to require adjustments.
Investigations into platforms, according to the EU, must be completed within 90 days, and violations may be punished by fines of up to 6% of annual turnover. The EU is also preparing an age-verification app which, Brussels says, will provide platforms only with a cryptographic “yes” or “no” answer without disclosing personal data. Platforms will not be required to use this specific app, but they must use tools to verify the age of new users. The draft can become law only after negotiations between the European Parliament and EU member states.
