EU set to propose social media and AI chatbot ban for under-15s

The European Union is putting together a proposal to establish guidelines under which children below the age of 15 would be prohibited from using social media, video-sharing platforms, AI chat services, and online games. If this proposal becomes law, its provisions will be set out in the EU Kids Act and will require the verification of users’ ages by tech companies as a condition of granting users access to their services. However, this is only a proposal at the moment and needs to be approved first by EU member countries and the European Parliament.

For AI businesses, the next step is uncertain. In Europe, the countries will likely start promoting services based on the age issue, making consumer AI companies invest in age verification, parental control options, and keeping the services for minors separate from those for adults. However, it is expected that larger companies will be able to absorb these costs more easily than their smaller competitors.

Why the panel report matters now

The foundation for this policy comes from a report dated July that was released by Prof. Dr. Jörg M. Fegert and Dr. Maria Melchior, Co-Chairs of the European Commission’s Special Panel on Online Child Safety. Their appointments came in March after Ursula von der Leyen first raised the matter during her State of the Union speech of 2025.

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