EU proposes social media minimum age of 13, parental consent until 15 — but enforcement remains vague

The European Commission today presented a legislative proposal that would set a minimum age of 13 for social media use across the EU and require parental consent for children under 15 to create their own accounts. The proposal, announced by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, aims to create a harmonised baseline for child protection online — something the Netherlands has been pushing for rather than introducing national laws. Source 6

Under the plan, platforms would have to verify users' ages and obtain verifiable parental consent for users between 13 and 15. Von der Leyen did not specify how age verification should work, leaving that to a delegated act. The proposal now heads to the European Parliament and Council for negotiation.

The timing aligns with a growing body of evidence that children in the Netherlands are routinely exposed to harmful content. A survey commissioned by the Dutch economic affairs ministry found that half of children aged 10 to 15 see posts online that frighten or upset them. Many do not tell their parents — out of shame or fear of being scolded, according to junior digital economy minister Willemijn Aerdts. Source 1 Source 2

The survey also showed that children get their first smartphone at age 10 on average, and that Snapchat and TikTok are the platforms where they most often encounter unpleasant content. Aerdts launched a new phase of the government's "Blijf in Beeld" campaign urging parents to have open conversations. But she acknowledged platforms are not doing enough: "The online world is really not yet a safe place for children." Source 1

Meta settlement leaves questions

Meanwhile, in the United States, a group of parents whose children died after experiencing social-media harms questioned the terms of a settlement Meta reached with 29 US states last week. Meta agreed to pay $18bn and implement stronger protections for young users. But Erin Popolo, whose 17-year-old daughter Emily died by suicide after being cyberbullied on Instagram, told Al Jazeera the settlement felt like a way to avoid having internal documents exposed in court. "What evidence did they not want to get out?" she asked. Source 4

Mary Rodee, whose 15-year-old son died after an online extortion scheme, said the measures Meta agreed to would not have protected him. The settlement avoided a trial that was expected to last six weeks.

Livestreamed violence highlights platform accountability gaps

A stabbing at Amsterdam Centraal station on August 30 was livestreamed on social media, including X. A TikTokker appeared to escalate a confrontation while viewers encouraged violent acts in real time. Four people were wounded. The suspect, a 43-year-old man from Naarden, was arrested. The police are reviewing the footage. Source 5

The incident underscores the challenge of moderating live content — something the EU proposal does not directly address. The Commission's rules focus on account creation and age verification, not on real-time moderation.

What the EU proposal actually says

• Minimum age of 13 for social media use.
• Parental consent required for users under 15 to create an account.
• Platforms must implement age verification — method to be defined later.
• Applies to all platforms that process children's data.
• National regulators to enforce, with potential fines similar to GDPR.

The proposal does not ban algorithms targeting minors, nor does it require platforms to offer algorithm-free versions by default — issues that some member states had pushed for.

The Dutch government has been waiting for EU-wide rules rather than acting alone, a position Aerdts reiterated. "We keep talking to platforms. It is not going well yet," she said. Source 1

For engineers and product builders: the key takeaway is that age verification technology is about to become a regulatory requirement across the EU, but the Commission has not specified what methods are acceptable. Self-declaration of age is unlikely to pass muster. Solutions based on government ID, behavioural analysis, or third-party attestation will be needed — but any system that processes biometric data must also comply with GDPR.

The proposal is expected to be fast-tracked, with possible adoption in 2027. Enforcement will depend on each member state's designated regulator. The Netherlands has not yet named its own.