EU is set to propose ban on social media and AI chatbots for under-15s

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS, Sept 14 (Reuters) - The European Union will propose a ban restricting under 15s from social media, video sharing platforms, AI chatbots and online games, in the most sweeping plan yet to protect children from online dangers, a European Commission document seen by Reuters shows.    

Concerns have mounted globally about the impact on children's health and safety of major outlets, including Meta's Facebook and Instagram, TikTok, Google's YouTube and ChatGPT.

The EU proposal is part of an EU Kids Act that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen will present on Thursday. The former may announce some details in her State of the Union address on upcoming EU policy on Wednesday.

"The Union's approach should allow minors to benefit from the huge potential of digital services, while protecting them from abuse and exploitation. It needs to limit the access of tech companies to our children, and not the other way around," the document said. 

The Commission's proposal, which will also cover video gaming platforms, allows for gradual access to the various services according to age, while the obligations imposed on the companies will depend on the type of service and the age of the children.

The Commission declined to comment.

COMPANIES WOULD HAVE TO PAY A SUPERVISORY FEE

According to the document, companies will have to pay a supervisory fee to fund regulators' enforcement and supervision. 

Children from 15 onwards can set up their own accounts under the proposal, while children between 13 and 14 can ask parents to open introductory accounts for social media and video-sharing platforms under parental control and with limited contacts and strict time limits. 

Accounts for children between 3 and 12 will be fully controlled by parents and will only be for child-friendly services with strict safety standards, the document said. Under-3s would have no access to the services.

Details may still change ahead of the announcement. 

The Commission will need to work out the draft with EU countries and the European Parliament in the coming months before it can become law.

The draft seen by Reuters sets out requirements for companies, including avoiding addictive designs and harmful feeds.

They would also have to provide tools to enable children to easily report harmful content and effective parental control tools.

Social media and video-sharing platforms will be required to verify children's age when a user opens a new account while online games platforms will have to verify children's age before they can download games.

The companies say they take precautions and many set a minimum age of at least 13 to sign up to social media platforms.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Barbara Lewis)