The European Commission has started piloting age verification applications in 5 countries: Denmark, Greece, Spain, France and Italy. The tool is intended to aid online platforms to better defend minors and meet the requirements of the Digital Services Act (DSA), informs European Commission.
Age verification and privacy protection
The application prototype can confirm the age of the user without revealing the exact age or identity. The Commission underlines that the solution meets advanced privacy standards and can be integrated into national systems or acts as an independent application. In future, this technology is to be compatible with European Digital Identity Wallet (eID), whose implementation is planned by the end of 2026.
Guidelines for online platforms
In parallel with the application tests, the Commission has published fresh guidelines on the protection of minors on the network. They include recommendations for platforms, specified as limiting contact with strangers, countering addictive plan (such as streetways or messaging notifications), reducing the hazard of cyberbullying and controlling the recommended content. It is besides recommended that children's accounts be private by default and that the features to download their content be blocked.
Further steps and fresh responsibilities
Although DSA does not impose circumstantial age verification methods, digital platforms are required to defend the intellectual and physical improvement of children. The Commission announced that the application could become mandatory in the future for adult services, among others. Investigations are already underway against Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos due to insufficient juvenile protection. In the following months, application tests will proceed in cooperation with associate States and platform operators.
We discussed the subject of digital maturity earlier in the context of support Meta for a common age for online services in the EU and proposals for standardized age verification at systemic level.
