Europe's "Kids Act": Brussels wants to impose strict rules on social media to protect minors

The European Commission presented this week a regulatory proposal designed to impose much stricter controls on minors' access to social media, according to Le Monde. Called the "Kids Act" by the press, this text goes, according to the newspaper, beyond a simple ban for those under 13 and aims to fundamentally transform how digital platforms used by young people operate.

According to information reported by Le Monde, the proposal provides for the prohibition of mechanisms qualified as "addictive" by European authorities. These mechanisms, widely used by major platforms to maximize time spent by users, are being singled out for their potential effects on the wellbeing of young users.

The text also provides for restrictions on recommendation algorithms, which currently determine much of the content seen by users on social media. These algorithms, often criticized for their ability to trap users in bubbles of increasingly similar content, would be limited in their application to minors' accounts.

Among the other measures mentioned by Le Monde are limiting access to the microphone and camera of devices used by young people, as well as a mechanism preventing a minor from being contacted by a stranger on these platforms. These provisions aim, according to the newspaper, to reduce risks related to harassment, solicitation by malicious adults, or other forms of unwanted exposure.

The regulatory proposal, which Le Monde describes as "highly restrictive," would thus apply to all minor users, not just the youngest among them. It is part of a broader effort by the European Union to strengthen oversight of major digital platforms, in line with other recent texts such as the Digital Services Regulation (DSA).

The newspaper notes that this text was presented this week, without providing at this stage a precise timeline for its final adoption or the exact terms of its implementation by the platforms concerned.