Child-protection groups challenge the EU Kids Act’s equation of safety with access controls

Netzpolitik’s 8 October survey gathers objections to the proposed EU Kids Act from child-protection organisations, parents, teachers and digital-rights groups. The Kinderschutzbund supports safer platform design but argues that no available age-checking method simultaneously meets the demands of reliability, privacy, security and nondiscrimination. It also warns that parental gatekeeping can cut off children who particularly need outside support.

The proposal is broader than a social-media age limit. Legal scholar Stephan Dreyer’s analysis describes design duties covering platforms, games and AI chatbots, alongside age assurance. For covered social-network accounts, independent registration would begin at 15, with restricted parent-managed accounts for 13- and 14-year-olds. These are proposed rules, not requirements already in force.

The draft contains privacy safeguards: age checks should establish a threshold without revealing identity or birth date, and should not enable advertising or profiling. Dreyer nevertheless questions whether all its technical requirements can presently be satisfied. A promise to disclose little is different from an implemented system that consistently does so.

There is no unanimous child-rights position against verification. Save the Children supports targeted, proportionate age restrictions backed by privacy-preserving checks, while insisting that safer design, education and participation remain central.

The policy choice is therefore more specific than protection versus freedom. Platforms can be required to change risky features; access systems can also exclude people who lack documents, suitable devices or parental help. The legislative test is whether the latter adds demonstrable protection without undermining the former’s purpose.