EU Issues DSA Guidelines Requiring Safer Default Settings to Protect Minors Online

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The European Commission published guidelines on July 14, 2025, under the Digital Services Act to strengthen protections for minors on digital platforms. The guidance requires platforms accessible to children to disable engagement-boosting features — such as autoplay, push notifications, messaging streaks, and read receipts — by default for underage users. It frames privacy, safety, and wellbeing as core design priorities, extending online-safety obligations beyond content moderation to include interface choices, personalisation, and advertising practices. The DSA already bans dark patterns and targeted advertising directed at children, and the new guidelines give platforms a more detailed compliance framework under Article 28. The Commission's preliminary findings in February 2026 that TikTok's addictive-design features may breach the DSA signal that risk assessment and design decisions affecting minors are actively enforceable concerns.

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