The European Commission will present the "EU Kids Act" project limiting children's access to social media
Quick Look
- The European Commission will present a draft regulation "EU Kids Act", which assumes a ban on the use of social media for children under 13 years of age and a limited account under parental supervision until the age of 15.
- Poland supports the initiative, but wants to retain the possibility of setting a higher age limit at national level.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The European Commission is preparing a draft regulation on the "EU Kids Act", which is intended to limit children's access to social media by prohibiting children under 13 years of age and limiting accounts under parental supervision up to 15 years of age. Poland supports this course of action, but wants to retain the possibility of setting a higher age limit at the national level.
Today, Brussels will present the "EU Kids Act", a proposal of EU regulations that are intended to better protect children on the Internet, including by limiting access to TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook and effective age verification.
Poland supports this direction
Ursula von der Leyen announced yesterday in her State of the EU address that children under 13 will not be able to use social media, and until the age of 15 they will not be able to have their own accounts.
Today, the European Commission will present a draft regulation on this matter. The proposal will be multi-stage: there will be a hard ban for children under 13 years of age, while access will be limited to 15 years of age, i.e. between 13 and 15 years of age, limited accounts will be allowed under parental supervision.
Poland supports this direction, but wants to retain the possibility of applying a higher limit - Deputy Minister of Digital Affairs Dariusz Standerski told RMF FM.
As he emphasized, if the EU regulation allows Member States to set a higher age, Poland will remain at 15 years old. If there is no such provision, we will request that member states enable it, said Standerski.
The deputy minister estimates that, apart from the age issue, the Polish project is consistent with the Commission's proposal. Solutions regarding age verification, access and scope of social media are similar to what Poland has prepared. He admits that the Polish project will now be compared with the Commission's proposal, primarily in terms of the similarity of definitions and terminology used.
No EU country has introduced effective age restrictions
Sanderski recalled that Poland was among 13 EU countries that appealed for European solutions limiting children's access to social media during the April meeting organized by French President Emmanuel Macron. These countries called for a common European age standard and effective age verification for users.
So far, no EU country has introduced effective age restrictions on the use of social media. France was closest to introducing such a solution (a ban on persons under 15 years of age), but its law was stopped at the stage of constitutional review.
Work on a Polish project
Poland will conduct its own legislative work in parallel with the work in Brussels. The Polish project is still before being entered into the government's list of legislative works.
Then it is to be sent for notification to the European Commission, probably at the end of the year. According to Standerski, the notification procedure itself will take three months.
Poland also wants to use the European digital identity system for age verification, as well as its own e-Citizen solution.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Poland will strive to maintain the possibility of setting the age limit at 15 years as part of the national implementation of the "EU Kids Act"
Likely · Within months
The notification procedure for the Polish draft law on limiting children's access to social media will take approximately three months
Likely · Within months
Open Questions
- What specific age verification mechanisms will be used under the EU Kids Act?
- Will member states be able to set their own age limits higher than the EC proposal?
- What will be the consequences for social media platforms if they do not comply with the new regulations?
