Key facts
- Prince Harry said platforms' privacy policies bar parents from knowing how their children died, adding: "That cannot be right."
- The European Commission regulates online platforms through the Digital Services Act and is planning a special regime for minors under the Kids Act.
- The Kids Act proposal would bar under-13s from using most social media platforms and formalize requirements on parental controls.
- The European Parliament's internal market committee, which is leading negotiations on the Kids Act, met in a separate room during the event.
Prince Harry told an event at the European Parliament in Brussels on November 10, 2026, that a handful of very powerful people want the world to be a social media world that is "lawless, no consequence, complete chaos, division." The Duke of Sussex was speaking at a panel on online safety for children, according to POLITICO Europe, which reported the event.
He called for stricter rules on social media platforms to protect children from content that could lead to suicide or self-harm. He also raised reservations about platforms' privacy policies, which he said bar parents from knowing how their children died. "That cannot be right," he said.
Meghan Markle, his wife, was present but withdrew from an address on the panel. The European Commission regulates online platforms through its Digital Services Act and is planning a special regime for minors under the Kids Act, a proposal that would bar under-13s from using most social media platforms and formalize requirements on parental controls.
The Parliament's internal market committee, which is leading negotiations for the Parliament on the Kids Act, was meeting in a separate room at the same time. MEPs including Hungarian conservative Dóra Dávid and Slovak liberal Veronika Cifrová Ostrihoňová attended the royal event.