Filenews 27 November 2025
Despite the fact that the EU has one of the strictest regulatory frameworks in the world when it comes to toy safety, dangerous toys still end up in the hands of many children. On Tuesday 25/11/25 the European Parliament ratified the agreement it had reached with the Member States on the introduction of new rules for the safety of toys, with the aim of improving the protection of children's health and development.
The aim is to reduce the number of unsafe or unsuitable toys sold in the EU and to protect children from related risks.
The 2009 update of the current Directive comes in response to the increase in online gaming markets (including from non-EU countries) and the increasing use of digital technologies.
EU rules on toy safety set out the basic safety requirements that toys must meet in order to be able to market in the EU, regardless of whether they are manufactured in the EU or in other countries of the world. Each toy must be CE marked, which proves that the product complies with EU safety standards. In 2024, toys were in second place in terms of the number of reports made to the EU Rapid Alert System for dangerous consumer products (15%), behind only cosmetics (36%). In almost half of the cases, chemical components of these products are reported as the main cause of risk.
– Member States and companies in the sector will have a transitional period of 41/2 years to implement the new measures adopted.
Ban on chemicals
According to a note from the European Parliament, in addition to carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic substances, which are already prohibited by current legislation, the new rules also ban chemicals that are particularly harmful to children, such as endocrine disruptors, substances that damage the respiratory system and chemicals that are toxic to the skin and other organs.
The new rules also prohibit the deliberate use of perfluorinated and polyfluorinated alkylated substances (PFAS) and the most dangerous types of bisphenols. Allergenic fragrances are also prohibited in toys intended for children under 3 years of age or designed to come into contact with the mouth.
Safety assessment
Before placing a toy on the market, manufacturers should assess all possible risks: chemical, physical, mechanical, and electrical.
They should also check whether the toy is flammable, whether it complies with hygiene standards and whether it is radioactive, and take into account issues to which children are particularly vulnerable. For example, manufacturers should ensure that digital toys do not pose risks to children's mental health.
Digital Product Passport
The European Parliament is optimistic that the new rules will reduce the number of unsafe toys, improving the implementation of existing legislation and increasing the effectiveness of customs controls.
In addition, all games should have a prominent digital product passport, which will prove their compliance with applicable safety rules. This passport will enhance the ability to monitor toys from the production stage to their placing on the market, and will make market surveillance mechanisms and customs controls simpler and more effective. It will also offer consumers easy access to safety information and warnings, for example via QR code.
Gaming businesses and online stores
The regulation clarifies and tightens the obligations of those operating in the toy industry (such as manufacturers, importers, distributors and service providers).
For example, toy manufacturers should formulate safety warnings in plain and understandable language, and if risks related to their products arise, they should take corrective action and immediately inform market surveillance authorities and consumers.
As more and more games are sold and advertised online, online stores will be required to configure their platforms in a way that allows sellers to display the CE markings, safety warnings and digital passports of games. Games that do not comply with the security rules will be considered "illegal content" under the Digital Services Regulation.
The new rules will enter into force on the twentieth day following their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
