The European Commission earlier this week proposed new rules on how under-15s access social media, AI chatbots and online video games. The bill is called the EU Kids Act and calls for a tiered system governing the types of accounts children under 15 can create to access these services, reinforced by mandatory age verification for all users.
Documents outlining the proposal have been officially released, and based on the current wording the Commission uses to define what it considers online gaming, it appears that single-player games that rely on online platforms like Steam for updates, distribution, or even single sign-on could be caught in the crossfire. That is, unless the definition is stricter before the law is set in stone, if it actually gets that far.
When the proposal was initially disclosed, before its official unveiling According to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, reports suggested there were no details on how the body had defined the concept of “online gaming” – and by extension, what types of games would fall under the proposed regulations. It now appears that this definition is rather broad, as things stand.
For example, in a press conference organized by the Stop Killing Games campaign about the proposed act, European Pirate Party senior political advisor Paul Diegel – who is assistant to the sitting MEP Marketa Gregorova – noted that the current bill would even see single-player games affected “because they are connected to Steam for updates.” Since the proposal documents are publicly available via the The European Commission websiteI dug up the current version of the section on what is and is not online gaming as it relates to the proposed law. It reads:
Video games have become an important element of the digital environment in which minors participate and interact with others, in a playful, targeted or entertaining way. Certain video game platforms allow the distribution and exchange of user-generated content to an indeterminate number of recipients of the service and the facilitation of contact between these recipients. These online games fall under the definition of online platforms referred to in Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 and should be covered by the scope of this Regulation.
At the same time, certain online games which do not allow the dissemination of information to an indefinite number of recipients should also fall within the scope of this regulation. This is the case for any game playable on a computer, a mobile device or a games console, whether the game underlying the software is then executed locally, remotely, for example by means of a durable medium, and whether the service is provided free of charge, against payment or against hybrid remuneration involving in-service (or in-app) purchases.
Online games accessible or purchasable exclusively on physical media, without any online element allowing their access, distribution or purchase, are not considered to be online games within the meaning of these regulations. For the avoidance of doubt, where an online game also has certain features corresponding to a video sharing platform, it is considered an online game for the purposes of this Regulation.
If I read correctly, the only exception in the current proposal applies to games that can only be purchased or accessed physically, and not through an online storefront like Steam. Even if the online element is only used to distribute the game and then send it updates, it seems like it would fall under the regulations as written at this point, meaning it would be subject to age verification.
It should be noted that the EU Kids Act is still only a proposal at the moment. Strengthening or refining definitions such as this, so that the law only affects exactly the types of games it is intended for, is something I see as almost certain to happen as pending legislation is revised and scrutinized through the EU legislative process. This means that if the law ends up being enacted, it could have a definition that singles out only specific types of online games that reflect social media, in the sense of connecting children to an infinite number of other players with whom they can chat or view user-created content.
For now, I’m going to spend the rest of my Friday afternoon writing about a less legalese-heavy topic.
