European Commission proposes EU KIDS Act
Expertise from the Center for Adaptive Rationality contributed to the proposal
On 17 September, the European Commission presented a proposal for the EU KIDS Act. The proposed legislation aims to better protect children and adolescents from the risks associated with digital platforms and to introduce age-appropriate rules for the use of social media across Europe. Measures planned include age-based access rules, stronger protective measures for minors, and higher requirements for platform operators.
David Grüning, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Center for Adaptive Rationality at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, was involved in the discussions leading up to the proposal. Since the summer, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had consulted experts from academia, policymaking, and practice to discuss possible regulatory approaches to social media and its effects on young people. The outcomes of these consultations informed the proposals that have now been presented.
Grüning placed particular emphasis on the need to improve conditions for conducting independent research. Together with European developers of digital safety technologies, he initiated an open letter to the European Commission. The signatories called for interoperability to be more firmly embedded, that is, for technical interfaces that enable secure and standardized data exchange between platforms.
Such interfaces would make it easier for researchers and other independent stakeholders to access relevant platform data and conduct more in-depth studies on how children and adolescents use social media—and what would help them engage with it in a healthier and more self-determined way. The open letter was published in early September.
The proposed EU KIDS Act shows considerable overlap with recommendations laid out in the discussion paper “Social Media and the Mental Health of Children and Adolescents” published by the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. Ralph Hertwig, Director of the Center for Adaptive Rationality, contributed to the development of these recommendations together with colleagues. Key proposals include age-based access rules, a stronger focus on the design of digital environments, and platforms bearing greater responsibility for the well-being of young users.
With the publication of the European Commission’s proposal, the EU legislative process is now underway. Over the coming months, the proposal will be discussed by both the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. The EU KIDS Act can only enter into force once the legislative negotiations have been completed.
Further Information
- EU KIDS Act: helping children navigate a safer online world
- Open letter on social media interoperability by developers of the apps one sec, Myranda, UseLess, ScrollGuard, SocialHope, Antigram, and Tournesol.org, September 9, 2026: We are already making social media safer - now it is time to give us safety!
- Leopoldina discussion paper “Social Media and the Mental Health of Children and Adolescents” (August 2025)
