EU ‘Kids Act’ Would Force Age Checks on Gamers, Report Says

European Union gamers could soon be required to verify their age before opening an account for an online game, according to a report on the bloc’s forthcoming “E.U. Kids Act.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the E.U.’s tech chief Henna Virkkunen are expected to present the legislation on Thursday, with a preview planned during von der Leyen’s State of the Union address to the European Parliament on Wednesday, per the report. The measure is widely expected to impose social media restrictions on minors aged 15 or younger, mirroring rules already enacted outside the bloc in countries like Australia and the United Kingdom.

What sets the E.U. proposal apart, according to Euronews, is its scope. The outlet reports the legislation would cover not only social media and video-sharing platforms but also online video games and artificial intelligence chatbots—a broadening pushed by Spain and the Netherlands just last week.

Gamers Face a New Sign-Up Hurdle

Euractiv, citing internal documents it reviewed, reports that under the proposed terms, E.U. gamers signing up for a new online game account would have to complete an age verification process. That verification would need to be carried out through an E.U. tool or another solution from public authorities. The legislation also reportedly includes provisions requiring tech companies to pay the European Commission for “enforcement costs” associated with the new act.

“The E.U. Kids Act will oblige providers of social media services and video-sharing platforms to perform age verification when a user opens a new account,” the document reportedly stated in part.

The obligation as described in the Euronews and Euractiv reporting extends to gaming and chatbot services in addition to social platforms, though the internal language quoted by Euractiv references only social media and video-sharing providers.

A Global Push—and a Growing Backlash

The drive toward mandatory age verification for online services has drawn fierce criticism, including from some who see merit in keeping minors off social media. In the United Kingdom, where then-Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced similar measures earlier this year, politicians warned the requirements would ultimately produce some form of “Digital ID” documentation—a concept widely reviled by Britons, according to the report.

Gamers in countries where online age checks already exist have run into additional roadblocks. Earlier this year, Sony locked certain PlayStation communications features in the United Kingdom and Ireland behind a mandatory one-time age verification process to comply with U.K. legislation. The verification can be done by submitting a personal phone number, conducting a facial scan with a webcam or smartphone, or using other forms of ID.

That move drew particular backlash toward Sony because PlayStation was the target of a massive 2011 data breach that exposed the personal data of roughly 77 million users worldwide—raising concerns over the safety of the new verification data.

Last week, Steam, the computer game distribution platform, introduced an age verification process for Australian users that requires an Australian credit card. Gaming outlet IGN reported the process has created difficulties for Australian adults who prefer debit cards and do not have a credit card—effectively locking them out even if their accounts were created over 20 years ago when the service first launched.

What Comes Next

The E.U. Kids Act is expected to be formally unveiled midweek, with von der Leyen’s State of the Union address serving as the political curtain-raiser. If enacted as reported, the law would make the bloc the largest jurisdiction to date to tie account creation on gaming platforms to government-recognized age verification—and to shift enforcement costs onto the companies themselves.

Details remain subject to change, and the internal documents cited by Euractiv have not been released publicly. How the Commission would define which games and chatbots fall under the rules, and how an “E.U. tool” for verification would function in practice, are among the questions the proposal is expected to address.

For now, the reported plan signals that Brussels intends to go further than the social media rules adopted elsewhere, reaching into online gaming and AI services that have largely escaped age-gating mandates in other markets. Whether that breadth survives the legislative process—and how gamers across the bloc respond—will unfold in the months ahead.

Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2026/09/15/report-brussels-eu-kids-act-to-introduce-mandatory-age-checks-for-gamers/