On September 17, the European Parliament voted to call for an EU-wide code of conduct governing influencers, agencies and online platforms, part of a broader package of measures aimed at making social media safer for young people. MEPs passed the non-binding resolution 395 to 136, with 80 abstentions, according to an announcement.
The resolution asks the European Commission and EU member states to establish the code of conduct alongside a legal definition of “Influencer Marketing” and a prohibition on unfair commercial practices, with the goal of tightening disclosure requirements around sponsored content. Parliament also wants the Commission to use its upcoming revision of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive to clarify whether influencers and professional content creators fall under the law’s advertising transparency rules, the same obligations currently placed on media service providers.
Beyond the influencer-specific provisions, the resolution calls on platforms to introduce age verification without collecting or retaining personal data, increase transparency around their algorithmic systems, and offer a “youth mode” that disables targeted advertising for minors. It also asks for mandatory ethical standards for AI companions and a ban on AI systems that generate or alter sexual images of a person without consent.
Rapporteur Sandro Ruotolo (S&D, Italy) tied the vote to the Commission’s separate EU Kids Act, unveiled by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her State of the Union address in Strasbourg the day before Parliament’s vote. “President von der Leyen’s EU Kids Act is a welcome step and follows the direction of our report on social media and young people,” Ruotolo said. “Algorithms do not stop at borders: Europe needs common rules. No social media under 13, supervised access from 13 to 15, including a one-hour daily limit, and greater autonomy thereafter.”
The EU Kids Act itself, still to be formally detailed, would bar children under 13 from social media entirely and limit those aged 13 to 15 to parent-supervised “mini accounts” with restricted features and daily time limits. Platforms would be required to provide a “safe design” for users aged 15 to 18. That proposal still needs member state debate and a vote, a process expected to take years, and lands as 17 of the EU’s 27 member states are already drafting their own youth social media rules, the kind of fragmented approach the Commission’s proposal is meant to replace.
For influencers and the brands and agencies that work with them, the September 17 vote signals that any eventual code of conduct will likely arrive bundled with the broader youth-safety framework rather than as standalone influencer marketing regulation. Parliament’s resolution is non-binding, but it puts the chamber on record ahead of the AVMSD revision and calls on the Commission to act on advertising transparency and disclosure standards specifically for creators, not just platforms.
Parliament cited Eurostat data showing 98% of EU residents aged 16 to 29 use the internet daily, with 89% of young people in 2025 routinely creating profiles and posting content on social networks.
Dragomir is a Serbian freelance blog writer and translator. He is passionate about covering insightful stories and exploring topics such as influencer marketing, the creator economy, technology, business, and cyber fraud.
On September 17, the European Parliament voted to call for an EU-wide code of conduct governing influencers, agencies and online platforms, part of a broader package of measures aimed at making social media safer for young people. MEPs passed the non-binding resolution 395 to 136, with 80 abstentions, according to an announcement.
The resolution asks the European Commission and EU member states to establish the code of conduct alongside a legal definition of “Influencer Marketing” and a prohibition on unfair commercial practices, with the goal of tightening disclosure requirements around sponsored content. Parliament also wants the Commission to use its upcoming revision of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive to clarify whether influencers and professional content creators fall under the law’s advertising transparency rules, the same obligations currently placed on media service providers.
Beyond the influencer-specific provisions, the resolution calls on platforms to introduce age verification without collecting or retaining personal data, increase transparency around their algorithmic systems, and offer a “youth mode” that disables targeted advertising for minors. It also asks for mandatory ethical standards for AI companions and a ban on AI systems that generate or alter sexual images of a person without consent.
Rapporteur Sandro Ruotolo (S&D, Italy) tied the vote to the Commission’s separate EU Kids Act, unveiled by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her State of the Union address in Strasbourg the day before Parliament’s vote. “President von der Leyen’s EU Kids Act is a welcome step and follows the direction of our report on social media and young people,” Ruotolo said. “Algorithms do not stop at borders: Europe needs common rules. No social media under 13, supervised access from 13 to 15, including a one-hour daily limit, and greater autonomy thereafter.”
The EU Kids Act itself, still to be formally detailed, would bar children under 13 from social media entirely and limit those aged 13 to 15 to parent-supervised “mini accounts” with restricted features and daily time limits. Platforms would be required to provide a “safe design” for users aged 15 to 18. That proposal still needs member state debate and a vote, a process expected to take years, and lands as 17 of the EU’s 27 member states are already drafting their own youth social media rules, the kind of fragmented approach the Commission’s proposal is meant to replace.
For influencers and the brands and agencies that work with them, the September 17 vote signals that any eventual code of conduct will likely arrive bundled with the broader youth-safety framework rather than as standalone influencer marketing regulation. Parliament’s resolution is non-binding, but it puts the chamber on record ahead of the AVMSD revision and calls on the Commission to act on advertising transparency and disclosure standards specifically for creators, not just platforms.
Parliament cited Eurostat data showing 98% of EU residents aged 16 to 29 use the internet daily, with 89% of young people in 2025 routinely creating profiles and posting content on social networks.
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