Products optimize for engagement over well-being. Dark patterns are routine. Children are exposed to manipulative design. Mental health effects are externalized.
Human well-being is the design target. Engagement metrics are subordinate to outcomes that serve users and communities. Protections for minors are default, not opt-in.
The European Commission formally accepted X's action plan for Digital Services Act compliance, covering algorithmic recommendation transparency and user controls on this Very Large Online Platform.
The US House passed the KIDS Act to protect minors online, but EFF warns the bill prioritizes age-verification surveillance over genuine privacy protection, creating a contested governance signal on minor safety.
Italy's data protection authority (Garante) has fined the owner of Character.AI for failing to implement adequate age verification checks, marking regulatory enforcement of child protection rules against AI chatbots in the EU.
The U.S. House passed the KIDS Act 267-117, combining age verification requirements and content restrictions for minors; advocates warn mandatory age checks require privacy-invasive identity collection and could threaten end-to-end encryption.
The Illinois legislature passed HB 5511, imposing device-level age-gating across online platforms. EFF is urging Gov. Pritzker to veto it, citing privacy harms and free speech concerns that could harm the young people it aims to protect.
The UAE has enacted a regulation setting the minimum age for social media use at 15 and mandating age verification checks.
The European Commission held the final meeting of its Special Panel on child safety online, releasing Eurobarometer survey results that officially confirm the link between social media use and youth wellbeing.
The UK government announced new social media restrictions for users under 16, prompting an official statement from the Information Commissioner's Office.
US states are increasingly stepping in to enact AI safeguards for children in the absence of federal action from Congress.
Ireland has announced that its upcoming EU Presidency agenda will prioritize child safety and an AI omnibus bill. This signals a continued regulatory focus on protecting minors from AI-related harms across the European Union.
MIT Technology Review published an interview with a psychologist discussing the cognitive and attention impacts of AI chatbots.
The European Commission has fined e-commerce platform Temu €200 million for breaching the Digital Services Act.
A bipartisan coalition of state Attorneys General, including California's Rob Bonta, has announced opposition to the federal KIDS Act, arguing the legislation fails to genuinely protect children online.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has expressed support for Colorado as it defends its social media warning label law against legal challenges. The move highlights coordinated state-level efforts to regulate algorithmic platforms and protect users.
US lawmakers have invited major tech CEOs to testify at a congressional hearing focused on children's online safety.