The MCA welcomes new EU guidelines to protect minors online

On Monday 14th July 2025, the European Commission presented new guidelines for the protection of minors online under the Digital Services Act (DSA). These initiatives aim to ensure children and young people continue to enjoy the benefits of the online world safely. 

The guidelines recommend stronger protections against:

• Addictive design features, such as streaks and read receipts, which are often used by platforms to drive engagement and can contribute to excessive screen time.
• Cyberbullying, by empowering minors to block or mute users and to control who can add them to groups, reducing exposure to harmful interactions.
• Harmful content, by giving young users more direct control over what they see and how content is recommended to them.
• Unwanted contact from strangers, by requiring platforms to set accounts as private by default, limiting unsolicited approaches.

These measures have implications for Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) under the DSA, which carry enhanced responsibilities to assess and mitigate systemic risks, especially where minors are concerned. By providing concrete expectations on design choices and moderation tools, the guidelines support a more consistent approach across the EU to safeguarding children online. 

As Malta’s Digital Services Coordinator (DSC), the Malta Communications Authority (MCA) actively contributed to the drafting of these guidelines, ensuring Malta’s perspectives and priorities were reflected. Additionally, the BeSmartOnline! (BSO) project serves as Malta’s Better Internet for Kids (BIK) Safer Internet Centre, promoting safe and responsible internet use among children and young people. 

This new guidance builds on the DSA’s risk-based framework and complements the Better Internet for Kids Strategy, reinforcing the EU’s commitment to creating a safer digital environment for its youngest citizens. Find out more about the Guidelines here.