The draft of the new EU law to limit minors' access to social networks is leaked

The debate about the age to access social networks has been very popular in recent months, even some countries such as parts of the United States, the United Kingdom or Australia have already applied it. It seems that soon European Union will also force users to verify their age in certain applications related to social networks or video. According to Euractiv, they have a copy of the draft of the new legislation for online age verification available and, as with other very similar laws, it seems very complete.

The new EU law will include social networks, video games and artificial intelligence

The new EU Children’s Law It will cover topics such as social networks, video games and even access to Artificial Intelligence. The data cited shows that children who have used social networks before the age of 10 spend more time in front of the screen compared to those who started at the age of 14. It also aims to eliminate the risks of isolation, concentration and learning and online content not suitable for them. Within the draft it is mentioned the Generative AI which can be a tool for creating deepfakes or generating inappropriate advice.

Regarding social networks, the law will also prevent your personal data from being used on the usual platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok or even that they remain in the hands of Artificial Intelligence companies.

For this, the new law will limit access directly from technology companies to underage users, and it will not be minors who have limited access. For this, several age groups have been established:

From 0 to 3 years old, the use of social networks is completely prohibited.

From 3 to 13 years old, accounts fully controlled by parents or guardians will be required.

From 13 to 15 years old, parents will be able to create trial accounts for their children, limited by a maximum number of contacts and daily usage time.

From 15 to 18 years old they will be able to change trial accounts to personal accounts or create new ones without limitations.

Video games will also have age verification

The online games will also include this age verificationavailable when downloading the game in the corresponding store.

Another of the modifications that the EU will require from the developers of these applications are the safe designwhich includes:

Design without addictive elements.

Controlled recommendation algorithms that can be adjusted to avoid rabbit hole effects, among others.

Secure account setup to reduce the risk of private data exposure.

No unwanted contact with other users.

Ability to easily report inappropriate or harmful content.

Age-appropriate and parent-friendly parental control system.

The EU prepares an age verification system for minors

To prevent minors from accessing without the consent of parents or legal guardians, the EU age verification or similar mechanisms approved by the competent regulatory authorities. In addition, companies will have to pay a supervision fee to the EU which will finance and support the work of supervision and enforcement of these regulations throughout the European Union.

But for the moment this law is not approved and even this draft might not be the end, we will have to wait for the next steps of the European Commission to know all the details.