Tim Cook welcomes the EU's KIDS Act, which would make app stores check ages

Apple executive chairman Tim Cook praised the European Union's effort to write one set of child-safety rules for the whole bloc during a visit to Strasbourg on October 6, where he met European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and lawmakers working on children's online safety. "We also welcome the European Parliament's leadership in championing a harmonised, Europe-wide framework to keep kids safe," Cook said at Apple's store in the city, according to AFP. He added that Apple was "very encouraged that the EU KIDS Act proposed by the Commission has helped trigger a constructive conversation around this critical issue in Europe."

That is an unusually warm tone from a company that has spent years fighting Brussels over the Digital Markets Act, most recently over the delay of Siri AI features in the EU. It is also one of Cook's first public policy outings since he handed the CEO job to John Ternus on September 1. Apple said at the time that his role as executive chairman would include engaging with policymakers around the world.

Cook didn't endorse any specific provision, and Apple hasn't said which parts of the proposal it supports, as AppleInsider points out. But the bill would put new obligations directly on the App Store, so it is worth knowing what it says.

What the KIDS Act proposes

The European Commission proposed the KIDS Act on September 17. It covers social media, video-sharing platforms, online games, and AI chatbots and companions. According to the Commission's explainer:

• Under 13: No social media accounts. On video platforms designed for young children, a parent can allow limited access through the parent's own account.
• 13 and 14: A parent or guardian sets up a "mini account" with parental tools always on, approval of contacts, and a daily limit of no more than one hour.
• 15 and up: Teens can open and manage their own accounts.
• Existing accounts: Within six months of the rules applying, platforms must check whether account holders are under 15 and disable those accounts, along with any whose age can't be established.
• Design rules: For minors, no infinite scroll or endless autoplay without real breaks, no streak mechanics, no notifications designed to pull them back, private profiles by default, and no messages from strangers without approval. AI chatbots must be off by default and can't be built to create emotional dependency.
• Penalties: Fines of up to 6 percent of a company's worldwide annual turnover.

What it would ask of the App Store

App stores get their own list. Under the proposal, they must age-rate every app, including games, using a published methodology, stop children from downloading or buying apps that aren't right for their age, and offer the EU's age verification app. A self-declared birthday would no longer count as an age check.

The Commission says those checks have to run through certified tools that tell a service only whether someone is above or below an age threshold. Platforms never see identity documents, and the law requires "zero knowledge proof" technology that can't identify, locate, or track the user. Each member state would have to offer at least one free way to prove your age.

Apple already has a lot of the plumbing. App Store age ratings were expanded last year to 4+, 9+, 13+, 16+, and 18+, Ask to Buy lets parents approve purchases, and the Declared Age Range API lets apps request an age range instead of a birthdate. With iOS 27, Apple added Time Allowances that let parents cap time spent in Social Media, Entertainment, and Games, along with Ask to Browse for new websites in Safari and broader Communication Safety filters.

The privacy design is the part that stands out. When Texas passed SB2420, which makes app stores verify ages and collect parental consent, Apple said it was concerned the law would require "the collection of sensitive, personally identifiable information to download any app, even if a user simply wants to check the weather or sports scores." The EU model, which keeps ID documents away from platforms entirely, addresses that specific objection. Cook did not draw that connection himself.

What happens next

The proposal now goes to the European Parliament and EU member states, which negotiate the final text, a process that can take months. The Commission's public consultation runs until November 26, and no date has been set for the rules to take effect. AppleInsider notes that Cook also discussed children's online safety with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the UN General Assembly in September.

Nothing changes on iPhones yet, in the EU or elsewhere. Parents who want limits like the ones the KIDS Act describes can already set them in iOS 27 through Family Sharing and Screen Time, including a Social Media allowance capped at an hour a day.

Sources

• AFP via France 24, "Apple's Cook praises EU over efforts to protect children online," October 6, 2026
• AppleInsider, Andrew Orr, "Child-safety policy puts Apple & Brussels on unusually similar ground," October 7, 2026
• European Commission, "EU KIDS Act: helping children navigate a safer online world," September 17, 2026
• European Commission, "The KIDS Act explained"
• Apple Newsroom, "Apple's new child safety features now available," September 14, 2026
• Apple Developer, "New requirements for apps available in Texas," October 8, 2025