DSA Tightens Grip: The End of Free Access for Children to Social Media?

On July 13, 2026, the European Commission received a crucial report from a special panel on online child safety, proposing fundamental changes in the approach to protecting minors on social media. This report, intended to form the basis for future legislation, recommends an EU-wide restriction on social media access for children under 13 and calls on platforms to demonstrate that their services are safe 'by design' before being made available to children.

What is the Digital Services Act (DSA) and its role in child protection?

The Digital Services Act (DSA) is a legislative framework of the European Union that, since February 2024, places a new level of responsibility on online platforms for the content and safety of their services. Specifically for children, the DSA requires platforms to implement 'appropriate and proportionate measures to ensure a high level of privacy, safety, and security for minors.' This includes a ban on targeted advertising based on profiling children and an obligation for transparency in algorithmic recommendation systems.

The Commission is in 'full enforcement mode' regarding online child protection, as confirmed in July 2026. This means that platforms failing to adequately fulfill their obligations face not only reputational risks but also significant fines, as demonstrated by the recent case of AliExpress, which was fined 550 million euros for breaching obligations related to the sale of illegal and unsafe products. While not directly about children, this case highlights the regulatory power.

Algorithms under scrutiny: How do they affect children?

Recommendation systems, which determine what content users see, are at the heart of today's social networks. For children, however, they can pose significant risks. They can lead to addictive behavior, exposure to harmful content (such as dangerous challenges or adult content), and promote cyberbullying or grooming. The European Parliament is therefore calling for the introduction of a 'youth mode' that would ban targeted advertising and limit addictive design features for minors.

The special panel's report emphasizes that platforms should bear the burden of proof. They should demonstrate that their services are safe by design before children can access them. This is a fundamental shift from previous practices, where problems were often addressed only after they arose. The Commission is expected to propose a bloc-wide social media ban for children under 13.

Age verification challenges and new technologies

One of the biggest challenges for platforms is reliable age verification. Current methods, such as a user's mere 'self-declaration' of being over 18, are considered insufficient and ineffective by the Commission. The European Commission is therefore urging member states to implement robust age verification solutions by the end of 2026 and is itself developing an EU-wide, privacy-preserving age verification application that should be interoperable with future EU Digital Identity Wallets.

The goal is to find a solution that is effective yet as non-invasive as possible in terms of user privacy. The Commission already issued guidelines in 2025 recommending that platforms choose the least intrusive and most reliable age verification methods and communicate the verification process transparently.

What does this mean for platforms, parents, and schools?

For online platforms, this means investing in 'safety by design' and rethinking how their services interact with young users. They will need to implement more effective moderation systems, more transparent algorithms, and robust age verification mechanisms. It's not just about compliance but a fundamental shift in the approach to responsibility.

For parents and schools, a new chapter in digital literacy is opening. With stricter regulation comes the need to better equip children with skills for safe and critical internet use. In this context, the role of education and awareness, which our onesafety project focuses on, helping schools and parents with digital literacy and online risk prevention, is also crucial. [internal link to https://one-o-one.cz/onesafety/]

The special panel's report recommends that children and adolescents should have meaningful opportunities to actively shape legislation and educational initiatives. This underscores the importance of dialogue and joint efforts by all stakeholders – from regulators to tech companies, families, and educators. It is clear that Europe is moving towards a much stricter and more proactive approach to child protection in the digital world, where 'safety by design' is no longer just a phrase but is becoming a legislative reality.