Chapter VII – Competences, supervision and enforcement (Art. 34-38)
Art. 34 KIDS Act - Competences, Supervision and Enforcement arrow_right_alt
- For the purposes of the supervision and enforcement of obligations imposed by this Regulation on providers of online social networking services, of video-sharing platform services, of online games that are video gaming platforms, and of software application stores, Chapter IV of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 shall apply and any references therein to the provider of intermediary services shall be construed to include the provider of services covered by this Regulation. Any references therein to compliance or non-compliance with the relevant provisions of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 shall be deemed to include this Regulation.
- For the purposes of the supervision and enforcement of obligations imposed by this Regulation on providers of AI companions and of general conversational chatbots, Chapter IX of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 shall apply, and any references therein to compliance or non-compliance with the relevant provisions of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 shall be construed to include Chapters II, III and IV of this Regulation. Non-compliance with those obligations shall be subject to administrative fines under Article 99 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 not exceeding 6 % of the total worldwide annual turnover of the undertaking providing the AI companion or the general conversational chatbot in the preceding financial year where that provider has been found to have acted intentionally or negligently.
- Member States shall ensure that authorities designated by them in accordance with Article 49 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 and Articles 70 and 74 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 are competent to supervise and enforce this Regulation in respect of providers of services or systems covered by this Regulation.
- To the extent that powers are conferred on the Commission under Section 4 of Chapter IV of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 and under Article 75a to 75d and Article 99 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, those powers shall also cover the supervision, investigation, enforcement and monitoring of compliance with this Regulation.
- Member States shall ensure that a competent authority is responsible for the supervision of providers of online games that are video games and for the enforcement of Article 15 and applicable provisions in Articles 8 and 18 to 22. Such competent authority shall have the powers set out in Article 51 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065. For the purpose of this paragraph, Member States shall lay down rules on penalties applicable to infringements of Article 15 and applicable provisions in Articles 8 and 18 to 22 as set out in Article 52 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065. The competent authority of the Member State in which the main establishment of the provider of online games that are video games is located shall have exclusive powers to supervise and enforce this Regulation.
- The supervisory authorities referred to in Article 51 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 shall be competent to monitor the processing of personal data necessary to comply with this Regulation, and in particular Articles 27, 28 and 29 of this Regulation. For infringements of the data protection obligations laid down in those Articles, the data protection supervisory authorities may within their competence impose fines in line with Article 83 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and up to the amount referred to in Article 83(5) of that Regulation.
- Member State authorities shall not take decisions which run counter to a decision adopted by the Commission under this Regulation. The Commission and the Member States, including Digital Services Coordinators, market surveillance authorities and national authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection laws, shall work in close cooperation and coordination.
Art. 35 KIDS Act - Expedited procedure arrow_right_alt
- For the purposes of Section 4 of Chapter IV of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 and Chapter IX of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, where the obligations in this Regulation apply to providers of very large online platforms designated in accordance with Article 33 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 or to providers of AI systems under the exclusive supervision of the Commission in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, the powers conferred upon the Commission under Chapter IV of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 and Chapter IX of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 shall be exercised in accordance with this Article.
- Where the Commission initiates proceedings for infringement of this Regulation in accordance with Article 66 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 or Article 75a of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 in view of the possible adoption of decisions pursuant to Articles 73 and 74 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 or Articles 75c of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, the Commission shall endeavour to:
- communicate its preliminary findings to the provider concerned within [30] working days from the opening of the proceedings pursuant to Article 66 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 or Article 75a of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689;
- adopt a final decision within 90 working days from the opening of proceedings.
Art. 36 KIDS Act - Supervisory fee arrow_right_alt
- The Commission shall charge an annual supervisory fee on providers of very large online platforms designated in accordance with Article 33 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 which constitute, are embedded in or embed online social networking services, video-sharing platform services, or software application stores, and on providers of AI companions, general conversational chatbots, and video gaming platforms for which it enjoys the competence to supervise their compliance with Chapters II to V of this Regulation in accordance with Article 33 of this Regulation.
- Each provider referred to in paragraph 1 shall be charged the annual supervisory fee for each service or system falling within the scope of this Regulation.
- The overall amount of the annual supervisory fees pursuant to paragraph 1 shall cover the costs incurred by the Commission in the preceding calendar year in relation to its supervisory tasks under this Regulation vis-à-vis the providers referred to in paragraph 1, in particular costs related to human resources, including officials, the set-up, maintenance and operation of the EU Age Verification Scheme pursuant to Article 29, the exercise of supervisory and enforcement tasks pursuant to Article 34, and the development of expertise and capabilities pursuant to Article 37.
- For the purpose of establishing the annual supervisory fee for the tasks pursuant to paragraph 3, the annual supervisory fee for each of the providers referred to in paragraph 1 shall not exceed 0,03 % of its worldwide annual net income in the preceding financial year.
- For the purpose of the application of this Article, the Commission shall apply rules and principles laid down in Article 43 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065.
- The Commission shall adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article X, laying down the detailed methodology and procedures for:
- the determination of the estimated costs referred to in paragraph 3;
- the determination of the individual annual supervisory fees referred to in paragraph 1;
- the determination of the maximum overall limit defined in paragraph 4; and
- the detailed arrangements necessary to make payments.
When adopting those delegated acts, the Commission shall respect the principles set out in paragraph 5 of this Article.
Art. 37 KIDS Act - Development of expertise and capabilities arrow_right_alt
The Commission, in cooperation with the competent authorities pursuant to Article 34, shall develop Union expertise and capabilities in the area of protection of minors, including, where appropriate, through the secondment of Member States’ personnel. Such development of expertise and capabilities shall especially be developed in the area of incidents affecting the protection of minors.
Art. 38 KIDS Act - Incidents reaction mechanisms arrow_right_alt
- The Commission, in cooperation with the competent authorities pursuant to Article 33, shall coordinate the assessment of incidents affecting the protection of minors across the Union in relation to services and systems in scope, and be able to rely on the expertise and resources of such authorities. Member States shall cooperate with the Commission in setting up efficient knowledge sharing networks with other authorities and relevant third parties.
- The Commission shall establish a voluntary administrative arrangement with competent authorities setting out procedures to facilitate a rapid response in the event of an incident affecting the protection of minors in the Union or in significant parts of it. Member States shall establish minimum preparedness levels for national authorities to ensure regular communications channels between relevant national authorities and third parties, and map existing incident reaction protocols at national level and where relevant establish new ones. The incident reaction mechanism shall complement the existing crisis tools under Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 and inform their potential activation.
