A new EU proposal would set clearer age rules for social media and require platforms to build child safety into their services. Here is what families should know while the plan is still under debate.
Families often receive online-safety advice as a list of settings to change or conversations to have. A new European proposal takes a different approach: it would place more responsibility on social platforms to show that their services are suitable for children.
The proposal is not yet a final rule. It is moving through the EU legislative process, and a public feedback period remains open until 26 November 2026. Still, its main ideas give parents a useful picture of how children’s accounts could work in the future.
A gradual approach to social media access
The proposal would prevent children under 13 from accessing social media platforms and set 15 as the EU-wide minimum age for opening an independent account. The word “independent” matters: the approach is designed to create a transition rather than treating every teenager in exactly the same way.
For families, this could reduce the current patchwork of age limits and unclear sign-up rules. It would not remove the need for household boundaries, but it could make platform responsibilities easier to understand.
Safety by design, not only parental supervision
One of the proposal’s central ideas is that services should be safe for children by design. In practice, that means platforms would have to demonstrate that age-appropriate protections are built into the product instead of expecting parents to discover and switch on every safeguard themselves.
This is an important shift. Parents can guide, discuss and supervise, but they cannot inspect recommendation systems, data flows or interface choices that encourage prolonged use. A stronger platform duty would address some risks at the product level.
Age checks with privacy in mind
Age assurance is another key part of the proposal. Any system that verifies age raises understandable questions about identity data and surveillance. The current plan calls for a privacy-preserving approach, so the policy debate will need to test whether the final tools prove age without collecting more personal information than necessary.
What parents can do now
No family needs to wait for new legislation to review its digital habits. Parents can check the real age requirements of the services their children use, turn off unnecessary location sharing, review who can contact the child and talk through what to do when something online feels threatening or confusing. For expert insights on this topic, see child development articles.
It is also worth asking children what works and what does not. Rules are more likely to be followed when young people understand the reason for them and know they can report a problem without immediately losing all access.
A proposal still open to public input
The consultation is inviting feedback from children, parents, guardians, teachers, educators and the platforms covered by the proposal. Responses will be summarised for the European Parliament and the Council as the debate continues.
For families, the most useful takeaway is simple: online safety should not depend entirely on perfect parenting. Good household habits matter, but the services children use also have a duty to reduce foreseeable risks.
