EU lawmakers target online platforms over child safety and gaming features
Article Date: 2025-10-21T06:20:15+00:00
Summary
Members of the European Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee (IMCO) voted 32–5, with nine abstentions, to back a report urging tougher EU-wide protections for minors online and stronger enforcement of the Digital Services Act (DSA). The proposals include financial sanctions and potential bans on companies that repeatedly breach child-safety rules, plus the possibility of holding senior executives personally liable for repeated failures.
The framework recommends a digital minimum age of 16 for access to social media, video-sharing platforms and AI companions unless parents give explicit consent, while preserving age 13 under parental supervision. It also calls for bans on engagement-maximising design features (autoplay, infinite scroll, disappearing stories and engagement-based algorithms), the prohibition of gambling-style mechanics like loot boxes accessible to minors, regulation of paid child-influencer activity, privacy-preserving age-assurance systems and the application of the AI Act to prevent misuse of image-generation and manipulative chatbots.
Key Points
- IMCO adopted a report pushing for stronger EU enforcement of the Digital Services Act and new safeguards for minors online.
- Companies repeatedly breaching child-protection rules could face fines or be barred from operating in the EU; senior executives may be held personally accountable.
- Proposal sets a digital minimum age of 16 for access to social media, video platforms and AI companions unless explicit parental consent is given; age 13 remains possible under parental supervision.
- Calls to ban engagement-driving features (autoplay, infinite scroll, disappearing stories, engagement-based algorithms) that contribute to excessive use among minors.
- Recommendation to prohibit gambling-style elements like loot boxes in games accessible to children, citing links to risky spending and exploitative monetisation.
- Targets “kidfluencing” — paid influencer activity by minors — over data misuse and manipulation risks.
- Supports privacy-preserving age-assurance methods but stresses they must not replace safer-by-design platform obligations.
- Urges enforcement of the EU AI Act for deepfakes, non-consensual images and to curb chatbots or AI companions that could manipulate users emotionally or financially.
Context and relevance
This report aligns with wider EU moves to tighten digital regulation (DSA and AI Act) and reflects public concern — the Eurobarometer shows young Europeans rely heavily on digital platforms. The measures, if adopted, will affect platform product design, monetisation models and compliance obligations across social media, gaming and AI services, with particular impact on developers, advertisers, legal teams and regulators.
Why should I read this
Short version: if you build, operate, advertise on or regulate online platforms or games in Europe, this could change how you design features, make money and manage legal risk. Big shifts — from age gates to bans on infinite scroll and loot boxes — are on the table. We’ve cut through the jargon so you can see what matters fast.
