Eurochild Backs Kids Act Digital Safety Rules
The proposed regulation mandates that providers prove safety standards before minors can access digital platforms.
Updated on Oct. 27, 2026 in Internet
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Eurochild has formally endorsed the European Commission's proposed Kids Act, a set of regulations targeting digital safety for children across social media and AI platforms. The policy, currently in the legislative proposal phase, mandates stringent safety-by-design requirements and risk assessments for service providers.
Why it matters
The proposal aims to shift the burden of digital safety from users to providers by requiring companies to prove services are age-appropriate before they are accessible to minors. This marks a significant move toward standardized child-rights risk assessments in the European digital economy.
The Kids Act requires platform providers to implement safety-by-design, a methodology where security and age-appropriate content are integrated into the architecture of social media, video-sharing services, and AI chatbots rather than applied as retrofitted patches.
The players
Eurochild
A network of organizations advocating for the rights and well-being of children through policy analysis and legislative consultation.
European Commission
The executive branch of the European Union responsible for proposing legislation and implementing decisions to regulate digital markets.
The details
Under the proposed regulation, service providers must conduct child-rights risk assessments to determine how their algorithms and engagement features impact minors. These measures are designed to mitigate addictive mechanisms, such as infinite scroll or push notifications, by enforcing default safety settings. Before services can be accessed by minors, providers are required to secure independent reviews of their age-differentiated safety protocols.
Timeline
October 26, 2026: Eurochild published its response to the Kids Act.
The Tech Race
The Kids Act establishes a stringent precedent for digital platform accountability that goes beyond current voluntary industry standards. This proposal marks a departure from self-regulatory frameworks, setting a new baseline for age-differentiated safety requirements in the European market.
If enacted, the regulation will change how social media platforms and AI chatbots display content and handle default privacy settings for younger users. Platforms will be required to demonstrate safety before children can access these services, altering the onboarding and engagement flows for minors.
The takeaway
The move toward a default safety-by-design requirement for minors signals a major shift in the European digital regulatory environment. Interested parties should monitor the European Commission's legislative calendar for upcoming debates on the proposed burden-of-proof reversals.
Further reading
For broader trends in digital regulation, see our Internet coverage.
More information
Review the full Eurochild report on Kids Act for specific policy recommendations.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Agence Europe.
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