Limited accounts for ages 13–14
Article 6(2) would let—not require—a qualifying social-network or video-sharing provider to allow a guardian to set up a limited account for a minor in the 13–14 group. Guardian tools must always be active. The guardian must be able to set a daily limit of no more than one hour, pre-approve new contacts and cap the number of contacts.
The provider must establish that the person setting up the account holds parental responsibility and verify that the user has reached the relevant age.
Guardian-controlled access below 13
Article 7 is limited to video-sharing services specifically designed for children below 13. The guardian—not the child—holds the account and contract. The provider may offer this access only with detailed age-specific risk, content and feature safeguards; it is never required to offer it.
The guardian must be able to control time, contacts and suspension of access, and to supervise content subject to the child’s privacy and best interests. Personalisation, recommendations and search of user content are off unless the published assessment supports activation. The child’s access must end at 13 and cannot begin below 3.
Guardian tools: who must provide them?
Article 20 names providers of:
- online social networking services;
- video-sharing platform services;
- online games;
- AI companions; and
- general conversational chatbots.
It does not generally name software application stores or operating systems. App stores have a separate Article 16 duty that can involve guardian tools for age-appropriate access.
Design requirements
The tools must be effective, accessible and easy to use; tailored to the child’s age and development; protected by the same authorisation level used for activation; and resistant to circumvention. They must not disproportionately restrict the child’s rights and must respect the child’s agency and privacy.
What the tools must support
- time-limited access where the proposal requires it;
- management of applicable safe settings and contact safeguards; and
- reporting harmful content, accounts, groups or behaviour on the child’s behalf.
Providers must encourage guardians to use the tools and regularly remind them of the tools’ availability, purpose and need for updates. Minors must be informed whenever a guardian tool is in use.
The child’s privacy and agency
Guardian involvement is not unlimited surveillance. Article 7 requires access to support the child’s autonomy and agency in line with evolving capacities and prohibits disproportionate restriction of privacy. Article 20 repeats the duties to respect agency, privacy and rights.
Article 18 also requires covered providers to present controls and information in a way children can understand, and to give them tools to control or provide feedback on content and settings. These duties apply to social networks, video-sharing services, online games, AI companions and general conversational chatbots.
How parental responsibility is checked
Article 26 is separate from checking the child’s age. A provider may use official national signals, relevant signals it already holds from the adult’s and child’s past engagement, or—at least until the Commission adopts a delegated act—an adult self-declaration supported by reasonable verification.
The check must be privacy-preserving. It must not generate extra processing that allows the provider to locate, track, target or profile the adult or child. Member States must provide at least one free, privacy-preserving electronic route based on authentic national sources, plus alternatives for families unable to use standard civil-status documents.
See age assurance & age verification for the distinction between these checks.
What can a child or guardian do if something goes wrong?
Report through the service
Article 19 requires social networks, video-sharing services, video-gaming platforms, AI companions and general conversational chatbots to provide child-friendly reporting. Reports of harmful content, accounts, groups, features or behaviour must be prioritised, handled without undue delay, and followed by information on the process and possible redress. This Article does not name standalone video games.
Report a broken guardian tool
Under Article 20(6), minors and guardians must be able to report when guardian tools are not operational or do not work as required.
Complain to an authority
Article 21 gives minors and guardians using the named social, video-sharing, video-gaming-platform and AI categories a right to complain to the competent authority in their Member State, or to the European AI Office where it has exclusive competence. A qualifying not-for-profit body, organisation or association may be authorised to exercise the child’s rights on their behalf.
Use national support channels
Article 33 would require Member States to provide easy, free and confidential assistance concerning harms covered by the proposal, together with safety information and digital-literacy support. National strategies must build on Safer Internet Centres, including awareness services, helplines and hotlines.
Existing accounts and transitions
Providers covered by Article 6 would have to assess existing accounts after the Regulation begins to apply. An account belonging to a person below 15—or whose age cannot be established—would be disabled. Article 32 allows a high-confidence exception for users already established as meeting the threshold, and requires very large platforms to document their plan.