EU Unveils 'Kids Act' to Ban AI Companion Chatbots for Under-13s, Restrict Teen Access
The European Commission unveiled a draft "EU Kids Act" on September 17 that would bar children under 13 from using AI companion chatbots entirely without a guardian's sign-off and switch companion features off by default for everyone under 18. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and tech chief Henna Virkkunen presented the package, which also raises the minimum age to open a social media account without parental consent from 13 to 15. The rules target platforms including Character.AI and Replika, as well as chatbot features built into apps like TikTok and Instagram, with fines reaching 6 percent of a company's global revenue for violations.
Under the proposal, companies would have to prove their products are safe for minors before launch rather than waiting for regulators to establish harm after the fact. Children ages 3 to 12 would be limited to accounts fully controlled by parents on child-appropriate services, and kids under 3 would have no access at all. The full legislative text was published September 19, and all 27 EU member states now have months to negotiate the measure before it could become binding law.
The push follows a wave of state-level action in the US, including California's SB 243, which took effect January 1 and requires companion chatbot operators to disclose their non-human status and build in mental health crisis protocols. It also comes after lawsuits blaming chatbot interactions for teen suicides, including cases against Character.AI that were settled earlier this year.
What supporters say:
Child safety advocates say companion chatbots are specifically designed to simulate ongoing relationships, making kids more vulnerable to manipulation and emotional dependency than with other apps.
Requiring companies to prove safety before launch, rather than after harm occurs, shifts the burden onto platforms that have largely avoided regulation until now.
Backers point to lawsuits alleging chatbots failed to intervene when minors expressed suicidal thoughts as evidence that voluntary safeguards haven't been enough.
What critics say:
Industry groups warn that switching off companion features by default for everyone under 18 guts the core product for millions of teen users who aren't at risk.
Some technologists argue the rules are hard to enforce since many chatbots don't consistently retain memory across sessions, making the "companion" definition murky in practice.
Companies and privacy advocates worry that the age verification needed to enforce the law could require collecting more sensitive data on minors, creating new privacy risks.
What's your take?
Should governments require AI companion chatbots to be restricted by default for minors, as the EU is now proposing? Yes 
No 
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Sources:
#EUKidsAct #AIChatbots #OnlineSafety #TechRegulation #ChildSafety
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