Yesterday, Ursula von der Leyen made children’s online safety one of Europe’s biggest digital priorities. Today, the European Commission formally adopted the EU KIDS Act. And for us at BUBLE, much of what Ursula von der Leyen described yesterday sounds remarkably familiar.
The message from the President of the European Commission was clear: children deserve a different kind of online experience.
During her State of the Union address on 16 September, Ursula von der Leyen announced the upcoming EU KIDS Act, saying that Europe needs to put children’s safety first and give parents more control over how their children use digital services. The European Commission has now formally presented the proposal.
A safer internet for children
The proposed EU KIDS Act introduces a gradual approach to children's access to social media and other online services.
Under the proposal, children under 13 would not have access to social media. Children aged 13 to under 15 could use so-called mini accounts managed and supervised by parents, with limited functionality and a limit of one hour a day. For users under 18, platforms would also have to follow stronger safety-by-design principles.
The proposal goes beyond social media. It also addresses video-sharing platforms, online games, AI companions and chatbots.
That broader approach is important.
Children don't experience the internet as separate categories such as “social media”, “messaging” or “games”. They experience it as one digital world. The EU KIDS Act recognises that the design of digital services matters.
And that is exactly where BUBLE started.
BUBLE was built around the parent
BUBLE is a messaging app designed specifically for children, with parents in control.
Parents create the account and set up their child's profile. Children don't simply enter an open social network and start talking to strangers. Contacts are controlled by adults, and BUBLE is designed around private communication between people a child actually knows.
There are no public profiles to discover, no open directory of children and no algorithmic feed designed to keep children scrolling.
That philosophy closely matches the direction Ursula von der Leyen outlined yesterday: put parents back in the driving seat. The European Commission specifically says that parents should receive better tools to help their children navigate the online world.
No addictive feed. No strangers. No advertising.
One of the central themes of the EU KIDS Act is safe by design.
The European Commission's proposal addresses features such as infinite scrolling, engagement-driven recommendation systems, unwanted contact and risky settings that should not simply be switched on for children.
BUBLE takes a deliberately different approach from mainstream social media.
There is no endless content feed competing for a child's attention. There are no advertising profiles built around children. There is no algorithm deciding what a child should see next.
Instead, BUBLE focuses on something much simpler: helping children communicate with the people their parents trust.
Ursula von der Leyen and the future of children's technology
Yesterday's speech by Ursula von der Leyen was an important moment for the European conversation about children and technology.
The EU KIDS Act is still a legislative proposal and will go through the European legislative process. But the direction is clear: Europe wants digital services to take responsibility for children's safety before problems occur, rather than only responding afterwards.
At BUBLE, we are happy to see this conversation happening.
Because building a safer digital world for children should not start with an algorithm, advertising model or engagement target.
It should start with the child; and the parents responsible for them.
That is what BUBLE has been building from the beginning.
Credits
Photo by Jonas Horsch: https://www.pexels.com/nl-nl/foto/frankrijk-kamer-leeg-vrijgekomen-11682403/
Photo by Alotrobo: https://www.pexels.com/nl-nl/foto/meisje-dat-bellen-vangt-2348815/