The European Union’s proposed KIDS Act represents a significant step towards strengthening the protection of children in an increasingly complex digital environment. The proposal seeks to protect minors from potentially harmful digital services and artificial intelligence systems while preserving the integrity of the Digital Single Market and establishing a coherent regulatory and enforcement framework across the European Union.

Central to the proposal is recognition of the risks children may encounter on social networking services, video-sharing platforms and other digital environments.

Under the proposed framework, children under the age of 13 would not be permitted to access social media platforms, while those aged 13 and 14 could access them only through restricted accounts established and supervised by a parent or guardian. From the age of 15, minors would be permitted to establish autonomous accounts.

By establishing common age requirements across the European Union, the proposed legislation is intended to replace increasingly divergent national approaches, remove regulatory obstacles within the Digital Single Market and provide children throughout the EU with a more consistent level of protection.

Croatia has already begun considering how the proposed European legislation would interact with its own measures for protecting children online.

“Protection of children in the online environment is a priority and objective of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, and through the work of the working group we expect to identify the issues on which Croatia should take a position in the negotiations on the KIDS Act, as well as to formulate national measures, prevention, education and support for parents and children, but also the implementation of age verification itself,” said Damir Habijan, Croatia’s Minister of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation, at the 21 September 2026 meeting of the expert working group drafting Croatia’s law on the protection of children in the digital environment.

The European Commission proposed the EU KIDS Act on 17 September 2026. In addition to establishing minimum-age requirements, the proposal would place greater responsibility on digital service providers to demonstrate that adequate age-assurance and safety measures are in place.

The proposed rules extend beyond conventional social media. They encompass digital environments including social networks, video-sharing platforms, online games, app stores and certain artificial intelligence services. The underlying principle is that services accessible to children should be designed with their safety and age in mind, with responsibility resting substantially upon providers to demonstrate compliance.

Croatia Looks to mGrađani (mCitizens) for Age Verification

Croatia may already possess an important technological foundation for implementing such requirements.

According to Biometric Update, Croatia’s mGrađani (mCitizens) mobile application is being considered as a possible mechanism for electronic age verification as the country prepares for the emerging European child-protection framework.

The system already provides electronic age verification for certain age-restricted online purchases, including alcohol and energy drinks. Rather than disclosing a person’s identity or unnecessary personal information, the system can confirm whether the purchaser has reached the required age.

This privacy-preserving approach is particularly significant in the debate surrounding age verification. Protecting children online inevitably raises another important question: how can governments and digital platforms establish a user’s age without creating systems that unnecessarily collect, expose or retain sensitive personal information?

The Croatian model seeks to address that problem by confirming the relevant age threshold while minimising the amount of personal information exchanged.

According to figures presented by Croatian authorities, approximately 60 merchants have adopted the system, and more than 2,000 electronic age checks have already been completed.

The mGrađani application has also continued to expand its range of services. Recent additions include access to real-estate records associated with a citizen’s OIB (PIN), Croatia’s personal identification number. Authorities say feedback from users is contributing to continuing improvements to the application as part of Croatia’s wider digital-transformation strategy.

Importantly, mGrađani should be distinguished from Croatia’s broader e-Citizens (e-Građani) system. While mGrađani has more than 204,000 users, the wider e-Citizens system has more than 2.3 million users and provides access to 124 electronic services.

Part of a Wider European Digital Transformation

Croatia’s preparations for the KIDS Act are taking place alongside another major European digital initiative: implementation of the European Digital Identity framework.

Croatia is incorporating the EU Digital Identity framework into its national Digital Information Infrastructure and aligning its systems with the European Architecture and Reference Framework as it prepares to provide a European Digital Identity Wallet.

This development could eventually make privacy-preserving proof of age an increasingly routine part of accessing particular digital services.

For Croatia, therefore, the debate surrounding the KIDS Act is about considerably more than imposing an age limit on social media accounts. It brings together several interconnected issues: the protection of children, parental responsibility, education and prevention, the obligations of technology companies, protection of personal information, digital identity and the responsibilities of governments in regulating rapidly evolving online environments.

The Croatian Government must now determine its negotiating position as the proposed KIDS Act proceeds through the European legislative process, while simultaneously developing its own national legislation for protecting children online.

Technology has transformed childhood in ways that previous generations could scarcely have imagined. Social media, artificial intelligence, online gaming and digital communication offer extraordinary opportunities for learning, creativity and connection, but they also expose children to risks that neither parents nor national governments can effectively address in isolation.

The challenge facing Croatia and the European Union is therefore not simply to determine the age at which a child should be permitted to open a social-media account. It is to create a digital environment in which technological innovation can continue without allowing the safety, privacy and wellbeing of children to become its unintended price. Ina Vukic