European on the Internet age verification application is ready.
The app works with passports or ID cards, is “completely anonymous” to the people who operate it, works on any device (smartphones, tablets and PCs) and is open source. “Most importantly, online platforms can easily rely on our age verification app, so there are no more excuses.” he said President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen at Wednesday’s press conference. “Europe offers a free and easy-to-use solution that can protect our children from harmful and illegal content.”
High expectations
“It is our responsibility to protect our children in the online world, just as in the offline world. To do this effectively, we need a harmonized European approach,” von der Leyen said at a press conference on Wednesday. “One of the main issues is how can we ensure that we have a technical solution for age verification that is valid across Europe? Today I can announce that we have the answer.”
This answer comes in the form of an open-source application that can be used by any private company, provided it meets European privacy standards and offers the same technical solution throughout the European Union. The user downloads the application, agrees to the regulations, configures a PIN code or biometric access and confirms his or her age using the electronic identification system or by presenting a passport or ID card (in this case, biometric verification is also carried out). According to the European Commission, the app does not store your name, date of birth, ID number or any other personal data – only the fact that you are over a certain age.
Then, when the person using the application wants to access a social network (minimum age: 13), a pornographic website (minimum age: 18), or any other age-protected content, if logged in from a computer, simply scan the QR code evident on the website they want to visit. However, if a person logs in from a smartphone, the application directly sends confirmation of age. The platform does not have access to the document with which the user proved this.
Adoption event
There is a need to introduce a common system for the entire European Union been discussed for some timeand according to the commission’s technicians, the technical work has already been completed. Of course, there will still be ways to bypass the system – just for an adult to lend a phone to a younger friend – but the technological architecture exists and it will be up to EU member states to decide whether to integrate it into national digital wallets or develop stand-alone applications.
“No more excuses”
For an app to be truly effective, platforms must be required to verify the age of their users – this is where things get complicated. The Digital Services Act, which entered into force in 2024, requires “very large online platforms” – which are used by over 45 million monthly users in the European Union – to take specific steps to reduce systemic risks related to child protection, with severe penalties for failure to comply.
“And that is why DSA exists in Europe: to call online platforms to their responsibilities. Because Europe will not tolerate platforms that make money at the expense of our children,” European Commission Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen said at a press conference. She added that following the TikTok investigation, European institutions plan to take similar action against Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, as well as four pornographic websites. “Since the platforms do not have appropriate age verification tools, we have developed a solution ourselves,” he concluded. In tiny, as von der Leyen also noted, “there are no more excuses.”
Only the minimum
So far, this is a European framework setting out general principles. On this basis, Member States may consider more restrictive measures. Italy was among the first to discuss how to regulate the operate of social media by minors, but has so far reached no concrete conclusions. Elsewhere in the EU, France’s Emmanuel Macron has been a pioneer on this issue, urging France to discuss a law completely banning social networking sites for minors under 15. The measure has so far received broad political support, but its outcome depends largely on compliance with the Digital Services Act and the availability of effective age verification systems, such as the app just released by the European Commission.
This article originally appeared on WIRED Italy and it was translated.