(fra Kommisjonens meddelelse 17.9.2026)

The digital world is a gateway to knowledge, an opportunity for connection and creativity. But platforms’ business models, designed to maximise the time spent online, result in a massive scale of online engagement and may exploit the vulnerabilities of children. According to a 2026 Eurobarometer, teenagers spend on average 4.5 hours online on school days, rising to 6.1 hours on weekend days 1 .   

The available evidence shows that the earlier children go online, the more time they are likely to spend on screens. Those who started using social media before the age of 10 report 7.5 hours of weekend day screen time, compared to 5.7 hours among those who started after age 14. This amplifies pressure on youth mental health, which has never been more at risk. One in three teenagers feel stressed or socially excluded and affected by concentration problems. One in four children currently encounters harmful and distressing content online, ranging from violence, and hate speech, to body pressure and misinformation. One in four also experience online sexual solicitation at some point before age 18, including unwanted pressured sexual interactions and forms of grooming 2 . While any child may be affected, vulnerable children are disproportionately at risk and girls and boys experience different kinds of risks.

In addition, as confirmed by the results of the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) for 2025, digital distraction is identified as a root cause of falling educational performance among our children. Digital distraction impacts young people’s learning and is a key factor for declining basic skills in the EU. The over-consumption of social media and excessive screen time lead in particular to deficiencies in evaluating information, making connections across multiple sources and thinking critically.

The development of problematic AI-generated content, such as deepfakes or dangerous advice given by AI chatbots or AI companions, is further exacerbating the issue. Pressure to share intimate pictures affects one in ten teenagers, representing millions of young people across Europe. This is not merely passive exposure and does not remain confined to the screen. Such content shapes, encourages and rewards risky behaviour, from harming others to self-harm, including eating disorders to reckless behaviour performed and filmed to seek attention and validation, with in some cases fatal consequences.

The Union already has strong foundations to protect minors online. The Digital Services Act (DSA) requires online platforms to keep minors safe when considering the core design choices of their services. The EU regulatory framework includes also comprehensive safeguards for children online when using streaming services, online games, online retailers, and AI products. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) provides specific rules and safeguards regarding the use of personal data, including children’s. EU consumer protection law, including the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD), protects minors as vulnerable consumers.

Enforcing this legislation has been a key Commission priority. Under the DSA, for instance, the Commission took enforcement action against ByteDance and Meta over addictive design of their flagship online platforms TikTok, Facebook and Instagram, respectively, and over inadequate age assurance on Facebook and Instagram. The Commission has also taken enforcement action against X over Grok’s generation and dissemination of child sexual abuse material. Through the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network, the Commission and national authorities have been addressing harmful practices including in online games and e-commerce 3 . Data Protection Authorities have also taken action against Meta, TikTok, X and others regarding the misuse of children’s personal data.

However existing rules do not suffice. The current EU legislative framework does not specify a minimum age for access to platforms and services with age inappropriate or risky features and content. There is also no outright ban on common problematic features, such as endless scrolling, excess notifications, or harmful recommender systems. Moreover, the existing Union framework does not provide sufficiently strong harmonisation and detail on addressing addictive design features for digital products and services accessible to minors. It also lacks legal certainty regarding age verification systems and legal responsibility of tech companies for the design of their services.

Following the announcement in the 2025 State of the Union address, a Special Panel was tasked with advising the Commission President on the development of a European approach to keep children safe online. The Special Panel involved various stakeholder groups and heard experts from different background, both from the Union and from partner countries. Its deliberations resulted in the report of the Co-Chairs of the Special Panel, setting out their findings and key recommendations 4 .

Alongside, child safety online has been acknowledged as a global challenge requiring close cooperation among partners. In the United States, the recent Meta settlement shows that service providers now realise that they are increasingly regarded, both legally and societally, as responsible for the safety of children to whom they provide services 5 . Within the EU, many Member States are considering different legislative initiatives to protect minors online, notably by setting out a minimum age to access certain services 6 . Recent developments have however clearly demonstrated the legal complexity surrounding the issue, alongside the need for a targeted and proportionate approach and for protecting fundamental rights 7 . 

Against this background, decisive, comprehensive and urgent action at Union level is the most appropriate way forward to tackle effectively and swiftly the scale and gravity of the risks encountered by children online. It represents the effective response to unequivocal calls from the European Council, co-legislators and key stakeholders advocating for the need of a common European approach to protect all children equally throughout the Union, as they navigate online. It will allow Europe to restrict, once and for all, tech companies’ extensive and damaging access to European children, so that they can live life free from algorithms. Because ‘Europe believes children should be raised by their parents, not by algorithms’.