Article 7 Guardian-controlled access for minors below the age of 13
Providers of video-sharing platform services whose service is specifically designed for minors below the age of 13 years may exceptionally enable a guardian to allow a minor below the age of 13 years limited access to the service through the guardian's own account, where all of the following conditions are met:
such guardian-controlled access shall take place exclusively through the guardian's own account, and no account shall be created for, or attributed to, the minor;
such access shall be enabled and controlled by means of the tools for guardians referred to in Article 20 or other parental control settings in the guardian's account or on the guardian's device;
the provider expressly permits, in its terms and conditions, access by minors below the age of 13 years, clearly specifying therein the age range of minors for whom access is permitted subject to guardians’ approval;
the provider has carried out and published, in at least one official language of a Member State and in a publicly available section of its online interface, an assessment of the impact of the service, or of the relevant parts thereof, on minors within the specified age range, assessing the risks and demonstrating, if applicable, how any such risks have been effectively mitigated taking into account the relevant age groups. Compliance with the requirements set out in Chapter III shall not automatically entail effective mitigation of such risks;
the provider has set out, in a clear and transparent manner in a publicly available section of its online interface, which content or behaviour is considered as not age-appropriate or harmful to the privacy, safety and security of minors within the specified age range on the service;
access to the content identified pursuant to point (e) shall not be granted to minors below the age of 13 years;
the available features and functionalities are adapted, and gradually adjusted, to the age of the minor declared pursuant to paragraph 4, point (b);
all personalisation features and recommender systems, and any functionality to search for content shared by other recipients of the service, are turned off and cannot be activated, unless the assessment referred to in point (d) demonstrates that their activation is in the best interests of the minor and does not in any way negatively affect the minor’s privacy, safety and security.
Nothing in this Article shall be construed as requiring a provider to permit access by minors below the age of 13 years, or as conferring on any minor or guardian a right of access to a service whose terms and conditions do not permit such access or where access to the service is subject to a higher minimum age under EU law or national law in compliance with EU law.
The account through which guardian-controlled access pursuant to paragraph 1 is provided shall be set up, registered and held exclusively by the guardian. The minor accessing the service through the guardian’s account shall not be a party to the contract with the provider. The provider shall take measures to establish that the guardian enabling access pursuant to paragraph 1 is the holder of parental responsibility in respect of the minor concerned, in accordance with Article 26.
The design and functioning of the guardian-controlled access provided pursuant to this Article shall not disproportionately restrict the minor’s privacy and shall support the minor’s autonomy and agency, in accordance with the minor’s evolving capacities. The guardian-controlled access provided pursuant to this Article shall meet at least the following conditions:
the tools for guardians provided for in Article 20 shall be activated by default;
the guardian shall declare the age of the minor for whom access is enabled and such access shall not be enabled for a minor below the age of 3 years;
the guardian shall be able to set a maximum daily duration of access by the minor, which shall not exceed one hour;
the guardian shall be able to supervise the content displayed or recommended to the minor, taking into account the minor’s right to privacy and taking the minor’s best interests as a primary consideration;
the guardian shall be able to approve, limit and remove any other recipients of the service with whom the minor may interact through the guardian’s account;
Guardian-controlled access pursuant to this Article shall be discontinued when the minor reaches the age of 13 years, to be determined on the basis of the age declared pursuant to paragraph 4, point (b) of this Article. This shall be without prejudice to the creation of an account pursuant to Article 5(2) where the conditions of that Article are met.
The Commission may adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 40 in order to amend this Regulation by adapting to technological and scientific developments the conditions set out in paragraphs 1 and 4, where such changes maintain a level of protection of the minor’s privacy, safety, and security online equivalent to that provided by the conditions set out in paragraphs 1 and 4 of this Article.