EU President Ursula von der Leyen and EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen are due to present on Thursday. The European Union is preparing to propose restrictions that would prevent children under 15 from accessing social media, video-sharing platforms, AI chatbots and online games. According to a report by news agency Reuters quoting a European Commission document, the proposal is part of an EU Kids Act that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen are due to present on Thursday. Von der Leyen may outline some details in her State of the Union address 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 says. The proposal would introduce different levels of access depending on a child's age. Children aged 15 and over would be able to create their own accounts. Those aged 13 and 14 could ask their parents to open introductory accounts for social media and video-sharing platforms. These accounts would have parental controls, limited contacts and strict time limits. Also Read: Full List Of Countries Taking Action To Protect Kids On Social Media Children aged 3 to 12 would only be able to use child-friendly services under full parental control and subject to strict safety standards. Children under three would have no access to the services covered by the proposal. The rules would also cover video gaming platforms, with the obligations on companies varying according to the type of service and the age of the child. The details could still change before the proposal is formally announced. Under the draft, companies would have to take steps to prevent addictive designs and harmful feeds. They would also have to provide children with easy-to-use tools for reporting harmful content, as well as effective parental controls. Social media and video-sharing platforms would be required to verify a user's age when a new account is created. Online gaming platforms would have to verify a child's age before games could be downloaded. Companies would also have to pay a supervisory fee to help fund regulatory enforcement and oversight. The European Commission will need to negotiate the draft with EU member states and the European Parliament in the coming months before it can become law. Concerns over the impact of social media and other online services on children's health and safety have grown globally. Platforms including Meta's Facebook and Instagram, TikTok, Google's YouTube and ChatGPT have faced increasing scrutiny. Many technology companies already impose a minimum age of 13 for social media sign-ups, but the proposed EU rules would introduce much broader restrictions for younger users. Rounak is a journalist with over 7 years of experience covering geopolitical and international affairs. He has a keen interest in research and explain... View More