PROMISE researcher Kathrin Karsay comments on the EU’s proposed Kids Act

VIENNA - As the European Commission advances the proposed EU Kids Act, PROMISE researcher Dr. Kathrin Karsay provided expert commentary to the Science Media Center Germany on proposed measures to protect children and young people online. The statement was picked up by several media channels, including ORF III, where she also discussed the proposal. 

Karsay highlights the significance of the proposal's focus on platform design and the business models underlying digital services. In particular, she notes that measures targeting potentially habit-forming design could affect a much broader group of users than age restrictions alone.

“The attention-maximising business model stands in direct conflict with youth protection.”

The EU Kids Act proposal also raises important questions about how recommender systems should work for young people. Karsay notes that simply replacing algorithmic feeds with chronological ones would not necessarily create a child-friendly online environment, and emphasizes that further research is needed to understand what safer and more age-appropriate systems might look like.

Karsay also points to a broader challenge: policy is moving ahead while evidence about the effectiveness of specific measures remains limited. Important questions remain around implementation, including whether young people will circumvent restrictions and how greater autonomy should be supported as they grow older.

The PROMISE project examines not only whether policies and interventions work, but how, for whom, and under what circumstances they shape young people's experiences online. Karsay's commentary also underscores the importance of moving beyond a purely protective approach, and that giving young people greater agency over their digital environments is an important part of considering what genuinely safer online spaces could look like.

Her contribution to the Science Media Center's expert assessment emphasizes that research on platform design, youth agency and digital well-being must serve as a pillar of European policy discussions. 

Read the full statement at the Science Media Center Germany (German).