Prince Harry tells EU: tech firms must prove apps are safe for kids

"Parents should not have to prove that a product is dangerous. Companies should have to demonstrate that it is safe for children. The details can be phased in, but that principle cannot wait," he said.

What is the EU Kids Act?

The European Commission proposed the EU Kids Act in September. It includes a social media ban for under-13s. Harry urged MEPs to go further: tackle addictive design, and treat a seven-year-old differently from a 15-year-old. Age limits alone, he said, "cannot be the answer".

He singled out infinite scroll. Young people had told him that endless short videos were the moment things got worse, and he said banning it should be simple.

The fight in California

Harry named Meta, Google and TikTok, which challenged California's rules on addictive features. Last week the three sued over AB 1709, which bars infinite scroll, autoplay and recommendations for under-16s from January. They argue it breaks free speech rights. Meta said the law would make the state "the editor, curator, and controller of online speech". Google's José Castañeda said overly broad laws "break the systems we've built to help kids find high-quality, age-appropriate videos".

On a later panel, Harry also criticised privacy policies. Some parents, he said, waited up to eight years to see their child's phone, so they were blocked from learning how their child died.

The Commission is already moving on parts of this. It has accused TikTok of building a "rabbit hole" feed under the Digital Services Act, and has asked member states to pause national social media bans for a year.