Brussels’ call: “Avoid fragmented legislation across the EU” on child safety online

Brussels – Brussels wants to press ahead with the adoption of the EU Kids Act against online risks, and the European Commission is therefore “strongly urging the co-legislators,” the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, “to speed up their work, as there is no time to lose when it comes to protecting children.” This was the comment made today (23 October) by the European Commission spokesperson, Thomas Regnier, during the daily press briefing in response to the fact that some Member States are proceeding independently on this issue. Take Greece, for example, which today adopted a law that prohibits children under the age of 15 from accessing social media and which will come into force on 1 January 2027. 

With regard to Athens’s moves, Regnier emphasised that the EU Commission is “fully in step with those Member States that wish to strengthen the protection of children in the online world, in light of the numerous risks they are exposed to.” He also pointed out that many EU countries “have notified the European Commission of their draft national legislation,” which is “assessed on the basis of our criteria,” he explained. This is a key factor because, while providing “detailed recommendations and opinions to Member States and then acting accordingly,” the “main objective is to avoid fragmentation of the internal market,” Regnier added. 

The issue of online protection does not concern minors alone. Yesterday (21 October) a court in New Mexico (United States) ordered Meta to pay a fine of $25 billion as part of a landmark case linked to the Cambridge Analytica scandal – when, in 2018, it was revealed that the British consultancy firm had collected the personal data of 87 million Facebook accounts without their consent and had used it for political propaganda purposes. This episode comes at a time when the Trump administration continues to target the Digital Services Act (DSA) – the law governing digital services in the European Union – on the grounds that it would impose “too many obligations” on US platforms. 

In this context, Regnier emphasised that the Commission and the EU have “the sovereign right to legislate – which naturally also applies to the digital sector.” And “we always do so in a proportionate manner.” Furthermore, “our regulatory and enforcement activities are not based on nationality, but on the issue at hand.” Therefore, both the DSA and the DMA – the European Digital Markets Act, designed to ensure fairer and more competitive digital markets – apply “to US companies, Asian companies, Chinese companies and, of course, European companies too,” he noted. According to Reigner, the inquiry by the European Commission against Meta two years ago for breaching the DSA led to “the same conclusion being reached as on the other side of the Atlantic.” Therefore, “if a company is able to offer guarantees in the United States, we expect those guarantees to be offered in Europe as well,” he concluded. 

It is not just a matter of complying with the DSA; online platforms must also be held accountable for their role in relation to the protests that have spread across Europe in recent days. In this case, “the primary responsibility lies with companies and online platforms,” Reigner clarified, emphasising that platforms must ensure that “their systems, algorithms and services are not misused in such a context.” The regulation also “provides Member States with a veritable ‘toolkit’ that they can draw upon should they deem it necessary; for example, under the DSA, law enforcement authorities can issue orders to online platforms to obtain specific information.” In all this, “the Commission’s role is to support Member States where necessary, which is why we have held meetings, for example, with the French authority,” he noted.

For the EU, the dialogue on digital issues is complex not only with the United States, but also with China. This summer, the People’s Republic established an international intergovernmental body dedicated to artificial intelligence, the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation (WAICO), which is committed to global governance and collaboration in the field of AI. The founding members include China and various countries from the Global South (including Russia, Brazil, Indonesia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, South Africa and others in Asia, Africa, and Latin America), and the number of participating states has since grown in the weeks that followed. The European Union does not feature on this list. “We have not received any formal invitation,” said the spokesperson.