„This initiative aims to shift greater responsibility for children’s safety from parents and minors themselves to internet platforms. It is also important that uniform rules are applied throughout the EU both in terms of consumer protection and business operations,“ comments Justina Paulauskaitė, head of the Digital Space Supervision Group at the Communications Regulatory Authority.
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What changes the EC proposes
It is proposed to establish a common EU regulatory system for social networks, video sharing platforms, online games, AI chatbots, and so-called AI companions; separate obligations would also apply to app stores and operating systems.
It is also planned to set an age limit of 15 years for independent accounts on social networks and video sharing platforms that pose risks to children: children under 13 years old would not be allowed to have their own accounts, and for children aged 13–14, parents or guardians could create accounts with limited functions.
Among other EC proposals – to ban some addiction-promoting features, such as infinite content scrolling or excessive notifications. Also, to ensure a higher level of privacy in children’s accounts by default and to establish common age verification requirements across the EU.
What this would mean for residents
If the proposal is adopted, a uniform age system would apply in Lithuania, as in the entire EU: children under 13 would not be allowed to have their own social network accounts, children aged 13–14 would only be able to have limited-function accounts supervised by parents or guardians, and from 15 years old, teenagers could independently create accounts. Services used by minors would have to be designed according to safe design principles.
Parents and children would be given greater opportunities to control the use of digital services, and internet platforms would have to ensure a higher level of children’s privacy and security.
Efforts would also be made to reduce children’s exposure to harmful content, unwanted contacts, and addiction-promoting platform features.
Obligations for businesses and institutions
Digital service providers may need to review the age verification solutions they use, account privacy settings, recommendation algorithms, and other functions important for child protection.
On the other hand, uniform EU rules should reduce regulatory differences between member states and create clearer conditions for operating throughout the EU.
Age verification would be based on a privacy-protecting principle – the platform would not need to transmit a person’s identity, date of birth, or other excessive personal data. It would only receive confirmation whether the user meets the set age limit. Such confirmation could be obtained using the EU age verification solution, which could operate separately or be integrated into the European Digital Identity Wallet.
„Lithuania would also need to ensure that reliable and privacy-protecting age verification tools are available to residents, including at least one free EU age verification solution. Therefore, it is important not to delay the creation of the national European Digital Identity Wallet – the EC foresees that the EU age verification solution could be integrated into the wallet and thus become one of the practical age verification tools,“ comments J. Paulauskaitė.
The „EU KIDS Act“ would complement the already existing Digital Services Act (DSA). Some of the safe design principles set out today in the EC guidelines on minor protection would become directly mandatory legal norms. The new proposal would not change the supervision procedures currently carried out under the DSA.
The EC proposal „EU KIDS Act“ will still need to be considered by the European Parliament and the EU Council, so the final rules and their application deadlines may still change. According to the current proposal, the regulation would enter into force on the twentieth day after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU, and most of its provisions would start to apply after six months.
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