The EU KIDS Act is a European Commission proposal that includes online games and would give game providers tailored child-safety duties. It does not expressly ban private game servers, and its certified age-verification rule is tied to certain social-networking and video-sharing services, not every game. The proposal does not settle how its duties would apply to every private or community-hosted server arrangement.
The Commission issued the proposal, COM(2026) 681 final, on September 17, 2026, and sent it to the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union for consideration. It is not applicable law. For background on the earlier announcement, see NeoTeo’s coverage of the Commission’s age-check plan.
What the proposal would require of online games
The draft includes online games in its scope and defines them as a video game or video gaming platform. It would require providers to adopt safety measures for minors, including safeguards against compulsive or excessive use, safer settings and contacts, and tools for guardians.
Those duties differ from the proposal’s rules for other services:
| Service | Proposed requirements |
| Covered social-networking and video-sharing services that pose a risk to children under 15 | Restrict accounts for users under 15, with a possible guardian-created, limited-feature account for ages 13–14 under specified conditions |
| Online games | Provide tailored safety measures for minors, including safeguards around excessive use, settings, contacts and guardian tools |
| App stores | Apply age ratings and prevent minors from accessing or purchasing applications deemed inappropriate for their age |
The proposal also lists operating systems in connection with age signals, as well as AI companions and general conversational chatbots. It conditionally excludes certain specified services, including qualifying open-source software development and sharing platforms. That is not a blanket exemption for every software product or distribution channel.
The gaming measures concern how providers protect minors. The draft does not expressly prohibit private servers. Its wording does not resolve how the duties would apply to every hosting arrangement, so it does not support a categorical claim that all such servers are either prohibited or exempt.
Which services would use certified age verification?
Article 29 ties the certified EU age-verification requirement to providers covered by Article 6 and the account restrictions in that article. Article 6 concerns covered social-networking and video-sharing services that pose a risk to children below age 15. It does not impose that certified-verification requirement on every game.
The proposal also sets privacy safeguards for age assurance, the process of determining or verifying a user’s age. Among other requirements, it calls for zero-knowledge proof, a cryptographic method for proving a statement without revealing the underlying information, and bars age-assurance systems from enabling identification, tracking, targeting, advertising or profiling. The draft does not say that every game must collect government-issued identification.
For covered social and video services, the proposed restriction applies to users under 15. A guardian could be allowed to create a limited-feature account for a 13- or 14-year-old, with guardian tools, approval of potential new contacts and a maximum of one hour of access per day. A child-specific video-sharing service could also exceptionally allow a child under 13 to access it through a guardian’s account, subject to the proposal’s conditions.
When would the rules apply?
The proposal’s general application period is six months after it enters into force. That is a relative period, not a calendar start date; the Commission submitted the draft for consideration by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union.
