The draft is a proposal, not law. The European Parliament and the Council of the EU will negotiate the final binding text as co-legislators, and the final age thresholds and design rules remain open to change. The draft also departs sharply from the EU Special Panel's recommendation, which called for a single restriction below age 13 and more autonomy for older adolescents. The Commission's draft instead extends mandatory parental oversight up to age 15. Von der Leyen announced the initiative on 16 September and framed it as a public health matter. The Commission argues that existing EU law, including the DSA, GDPR, AI Act, and Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, leaves a gap because no EU instrument sets a minimum age for services with risky features.
For attorneys, the key shift is that the DSA regulates content after it appears, while the KIDS Act regulates how products are built. Safety-by-design would turn compliance into a product cost rather than a later legal review. Watch the Parliament and Council negotiations, the EU-certified age verification requirements, and the audit obligations for DSA-designated platforms. Gaming and AI chatbot clients should also track the safe-by-design rules closely. The Commission's upcoming Digital Fairness Act, which targets dark patterns and addictive design, will overlap with these rules and may shape the final outcome.