KIDS Act

1. ensure that the recommender systems give priority and primary weight to explicit user-stated preferences when suggesting information;
2. disable by default the recommendation of information suggested by the recommender system based on implicit engagement-based signals from minors’ behaviour online;
3. ensure that the recommender systems do not rely on the collection of any personal data of minors captured from outside the service;
4. ensure that minors are not exposed to information suggested by the recommender systems that may pose a risk to their privacy, safety and security, including if encountered repeatedly.

1. modify or control the parameters of the recommender system, including by easily deleting all previous identified preferences;
2. choose at least one option of the recommender systems which is not based on profiling as defined in Article 4, point (4), of Regulation (EU) 2016/679.

Tools referred to in the first subparagraph shall not be designed in a manner to entice minors into choosing the option based on profiling, shall be offered during account creation and shall remain directly accessible from the specific section of the service’s online interface where the information is being prioritised, including for recipients of the service without an account.

1. geolocation and other tracking features;
2. access to microphone and camera;
3. recommendations of other accounts and synchronisation of contacts;
4. push notifications, which should, in any event, be designed in a way that protects minors’ core sleep hours and school time.

1. other recipients of the service are not able to initiate direct contact with the minor, if the minor has not pre-approved such contact.
2. minors with an account are not included in contact recommendations or similar features aiming to enable other recipients of the service, including minors, to expand their contacts;
3. minors can only be added to a group with a limited or unlimited number of recipients of the service after their explicit agreement;
4. minors can easily block any other recipient of the service without having their identity disclosed to the blocked recipients of the service.

1. by default, other recipients of the service not previously accepted by the minor shall not be able to access account information of the minor or content uploaded or shared by the minor on the service;
2. recipients of the service without an account shall not be able to access account information of minors or content uploaded or shared by minors on the service;
3. the personal contact details of minors, such as their name, phone number, e-mail address and address, shall not be disclosed to or shared with other recipients of the service;
4. minors shall be able to easily control the visibility of any content shared, interaction and related metrics on the service;
5. other recipients of the service shall not be able to download or take screenshots of contact, location or account information of minors or of any content uploaded or shared by minors on the service;
6. minors shall, by default, not be able to host real-time transmission of user-generated content, including through live-streaming of audiovisual content.

1. ensuring that minors are not exposed to addictive designs, by avoiding design features and system behaviours that simulate interpersonal relations that are likely to create emotional dependencies and by applying the measures set out in Article 9(1) and (3) to such systems;
2. ensuring that minors are provided with safe settings, by applying the measures set out in Article 11 to such systems, including by ensuring that, by default, their system does not use information or analysis derived from a minor’s prior interactions in subsequent interactions, except where necessary to protect the minor’s safety, to give effect to the settings referred to in Article 11;
3. ensuring transparency on economic transactions, by applying the measures set out in Article 13 to such systems;
4. ensuring that access to services and systems referred to in paragraph 1 for minors below the age of 13 years is only enabled and controlled by means of the tools for guardians referred to in Article 20;
5. performing state-of-the art evaluations and testing of the system for risks to the health, safety and fundamental rights and the physical, mental and emotional well-being and development of minors that are likely to arise when minors interact with the system, and implementing appropriate safeguards to address those risks, prior to the system’s placement on the market or putting into service;
6. post-market monitoring to identify, assess and, where appropriate, mitigate harms and emerging risks referred to in point (d) of this paragraph, including through detecting and responding to serious incidents involving minors, unless the system is provided by a micro or small enterprise within the meaning of Recommendation 2003/361/EC.

1. the AI companion or general conversational chatbot is not activated automatically and, that the functionality is not displayed prominently on the online interface of that service;
2. minors are not encouraged to use the AI companion or general conversational chatbot;
3. where enabled, minors have the option to opt out easily and at any time, of using the AI companion or general conversational chatbot.

1. ensuring that compulsive or excessive use of the game by minors is not encouraged, by applying Article 9(1) and Article 9(2), points (b) and (d);
2. ensuring settings of minors are set to a high level of privacy, security and safety, by applying Article 11(1);
3. ensuring contacts between minors and other recipients of the game are subject to a high level of privacy, security and safety, by applying Article 12(1) and 12(3), points (c);
4. ensuring mandatory access to the tools for guardians referred to in Article 20 and ensuring that access to services referred to in paragraph 1 for minors below the age of 13 years is only enabled and controlled by means of the tools for guardians referred to in Article 20.

1. pursue the clearly defined and unambiguous objective to enable and facilitate the mutual recognition and consistent application of age ratings by providers of software application stores and online games across Member States;
2. define appropriate criteria, methodologies and sources of information for assessing the age-appropriateness of content in particular as regards violent, sexual, gambling and self-harm content as well as in-app purchases, contact risks and addictive design features;
3. establish free of charge remedies and redress mechanisms for content providers, including app developers to resolve disputes related to the age-rating of content provided by a body that is impartial and independent, including financially independent, of providers and recipients of the service;
4. provide harmonised, easily recognisable and understandable age-rating labels and textual descriptors to be displayed prominently and prior to accessing or purchasing content;
5. provide for regular, transparent and independent monitoring and evaluation of the achievement of the objectives, including by containing key performance indicators to measure the achievement of their objectives and regular updates to reflect technological developments and emerging risks to minors;
6. with regard to online games, define appropriate measures and methodologies to give effect to the obligations laid down in Article 15(1), (2), (3) and (4), building, where appropriate, on existing pan-European age classification frameworks, including their criteria concerning interactive functionalities and monetisation practices, and providing for their regular update in light of scientific and technological developments and emerging risks to minors

1. tools that allow minors to control and provide feedback on content, prompts, information suggested and search results to which they are exposed and that have immediate and durable effects on such content, prompts, information suggested and search results;
2. mechanisms that allow minors to control the settings which determine how they interact and communicate with, transfer, create or generate content on the service or the system, including warning signals, and explanations, that allow for temporary changes and that ensure that minors can easily return to previous or default settings.

1. ensure that minors have access to support and authoritative information sources when encountering illegal or harmful content on the service or system, including by informing minors of available resources and organisations at national and Union level;
2. ensure that support and authoritative information sources referred to in point (a) of this paragraph are presented to minors where necessary, and at least after minors have submitted a report pursuant to paragraph 1;
3. make reasonable efforts to display clear warning messages where minors are likely to publish or to be exposed to content or interactions presenting a risk to their privacy, safety or security.

1. they are tailored to the age of the minor, taking due account of the minor’s gradual development;
2. they are easy to use, access and activate for minors and guardians;
3. they ensure that changes can only be made with the same degree of authorisation that is required for the initial activation of the tools;
4. they are effective and cannot be easily circumvented or undermined by the design or operation of the service or the system.
5. they do not disproportionately restricting minors’ rights;
6. they respect minor’s agency and privacy.

1. effective measures to ensure time-limited access pursuant to Article 9(3), Article 14(1), point (b) and Article 15(1), point (b);
2. mechanisms aimed at managing settings pursuant to Articles 11 and 12;
3. mechanisms aimed at enabling guardians, on behalf of minors, to report content, accounts, groups or behaviour which they consider harmful to the privacy, safety, or security of minors pursuant to Article 19(1).

1. it operates on a not-for-profit basis;
2. it has been properly constituted in accordance with the law of a Member State;
3. its statutory objectives include a legitimate interest in ensuring that this Regulation is complied with.

1. prohibitions on practices intended, or which can reasonably be foreseen, to encourage compulsive or excessive use of the service by minors, as referred to in Article 9(2);
2. measures ensuring that recommender systems are designed in way that ensures a high level of privacy, safety and security of minors, as referred to in Article 10(2);
3. default settings ensuring that minors’ accounts are set to a high level of privacy, safety and security, as referred to in Article 11(1);
4. measures ensuring a high level of privacy, safety and security of minors as regards contacts between minors and other recipients of the service, as referred to in Article 12(1) and measures limiting the visibility of any information shared by minors and their interactions with other recipients of the service, as referred to in Article 12(2)
5. measures ensuring a high level of protection of health, safety, fundamental rights and well-being of minors that may access AI companions and general conversational chatbot systems, as referred to in Article 14(1);
6. measures ensuring a high level of privacy, safety and security of minors on online games as referred to in Article 15(1);
7. measures ensuring agency for minors as referred to in Article 18(2).

1. the extent to which the risk has already caused harm to minors’ health, well-being or had adverse impact on minors’ privacy, safety and security, or fundamental rights or has given rise to significant concerns in relation to the likelihood of such harm or adverse impact, as demonstrated, for example, by reports or documented allegations submitted to national competent authorities or by other reports, as appropriate;
2. the potential extent of such harm or such adverse impact, in particular in terms of its intensity and its ability to affect multiple persons or to disproportionately affect a particular group or persons;
3. the impact of the existing measures in addressing such risks, including the intended purpose of such measures, the extent to which the measures are being used or are likely to be used, and the effectiveness of such measures for minors’ health, well-being, and privacy, safety and security.