EU Proposes Under-13 Social Media Ban Backed by Its Own Age-Verification App

The European Commission on Thursday proposed banning children under 13 from social media, with accounts for those up to 15 requiring parental supervision. Enforcement would rest on a free, open-source age-verification app developed by Brussels that confirms whether a user meets an age threshold without disclosing their identity.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc examined Australia's approach, which barred under-16s from social media last year, while drafting the proposal. If adopted, the planned Kids Act would create the largest social media access restriction in the world, applying to roughly 450 million people across 27 countries.

A decentralised tool

The smartphone app, presented in April 2026, is being rolled out through member states, with Cyprus, Denmark, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy and Spain running pilots. The Commission expects EU-wide availability by the end of 2026. The tool would also be used to prove users are over 18 when accessing adult sites, a restriction already in force under the Digital Services Act. Under the proposed Kids Act, breaches of minors' rules would fall under DSA enforcement, where penalties can reach 6% of global turnover.

Brussels writes the code and standards, but the system is decentralised. Member states operate it through issuers they designate, and the proofs are stored on the user's phone. There is no central EU database of ages or of who verified whom.

How verification works

A user proves their age once to a nationally designated issuer — a body vetted by the member state, which may be a digital ID provider, a bank or a post office. At a restricted site, the app certifies only that the user is above the required threshold; the platform receives a yes-or-no response. Issuance and verification are handled by separate entities, and the proof provider is not told which service the proof was used for. Each proof works only once, preventing cross-service tracking, and no identity documents or biometric data are retained. The code is open-source, allowing independent scrutiny.

The significance of the EU approach is that it offers a common age-verification mechanism rather than leaving individual platforms to build and enforce their own systems. "Online platforms can easily rely on our age verification app. So there are no more excuses," von der Leyen said.

Contrast with Australia

Australia legislated a minimum age of 16 but prescribed no method and built no state infrastructure, leaving everything to platforms and commercial vendors. A shadow trial found platforms requested age proof on none of 50 test accounts declaring an age of 16. Canberra has since doubled maximum fines and threatened court action.

What comes next

The proposal must be approved by EU member states and the European Parliament before becoming law. Greece, which is legislating an under-15 ban, said it expects "clear convergence" with its own approach and aims for its law to take effect early next year. Spain's under-16 ban awaits a parliamentary vote; Digital Transformation Minister Oscar Lopez says age systems must "strike a balance with the right to privacy", while Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the message to "techno-oligarchs" is that "childhood is protected by our democracies".

In France, however, the Constitutional Council last month blocked a national under-15 ban, deeming it an unconstitutional and disproportionate infringement on freedom of expression. The ruling illustrates that the legal framework remains contested and that national courts will help shape the environment in which the EU regulation is implemented.