Italian chamber begins review of EU Kids Act proposal on online games

Italy's Chamber of Deputies EU Policies Committee began examining the proposed EU Kids Act on 27 October 2026, according to the committee's proceedings. The review concerns the draft regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on responsible and reliable digital spaces online (COM(2026) 681 final) and checks its compliance with the principle of subsidiarity. The committee postponed its examination to a later sitting.

The proposal sets safety requirements by design and by default for online games as well as for social networks, video-sharing platforms, artificial intelligence-based companions, conversational chatbots and app stores. For online games and software app stores it also envisages a system classifying applications by age. It further includes duties for member states, among them adopting national strategies to support minors and designating a competent authority to supervise online games that are video games.

Presenting the measure to the committee, the rapporteur Lucrezia Maria Benedetta Mantovani (FdI) said the proposal aims to define a uniform framework of prohibitions and obligations in the European Union to strengthen the protection of minors in the digital space. The regulation also provides that higher minimum ages already set by European or national law for access to specific content, including gambling and pornography, remain unaffected.

Aspects to be examined in the parliamentary review include respect for member states' competences, the proportionality of the measures and their economic and regulatory impact on operators. The committee raised the possibility of holding a short cycle of hearings to examine the issues identified. The deadline for the subsidiarity check on the proposal is 23 November 2026.