The EU’s age verification app for online platforms is “technically ready” and will soon be rolled out, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday as a growing number of countries push ahead with plans to curb social media access for younger users.
The system is based on “zero-knowledge proof” meaning social media users will be able to verify their age without sharing personal data with the platforms.
Users will be able to verify their age, for example using official documents such as electronic identification systems, with the app generating a proof of age that is then shared with platforms without revealing personal data.
Seven member states, including France, Spain and Italy, are planning to integrate the system into national digital identity wallets, von der Leyen said.
European officials have warned children are increasingly exposed to harmful content online, citing cyberbullying and addictive features designed to maximise engagement as examples.
Europe push for child safety
The announcement in Brussels comes as countries such as Greece, France, Spain, and Denmark are pushing ahead with national restrictions on children’s social media usage.
Last Wednesday, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis pledged to exert pressure on the EU for standardised age verification tools in order to better regulate children’s online safety, as he too insisted that further enforcement was necessary to combat the “addictive design” of social media apps for young people.
The Mediterranean country has announced plans to implement a ban on social media for under-15s from next year.
In France, lawmakers have already moved to push legislation forward that would ban social media use for under-15s and bar the use of mobile phones in high schools, with MPs adopting the bill by a vote of 130 to 21.
French President Emmanuel Macron is leading a push by European leaders to discuss action against European children’s access to social media, as he prepares to host a video call on Thursday to discuss restrictions.
The EU’s approach
The EU’s Europe-wide verification system would be open-source, meaning that its code could be independently verified.
Officials said the aim is to develop a single EU-wide system, avoiding a patchwork of national approaches.
However, they did not provide a timeline for when the system will be fully deployed across the bloc, nor did they announce whether platforms will be required to adopt it.
The move is aimed at major platforms such as TikTok, Meta’s Facebook and Instagram and Snapchat, which have clashed with Brussels’ Digital Services Act (DSA) over child safety and addictive design.
Most recently, the Commission launched an investigation into photo-sharing app Snapchat for failing to protect children. Similar probes have been opened into Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and four porn platforms.
By offering its own system for age verification, the EU Commission is seeking to create a more standardised way for major tech platforms to verify users’ ages across the bloc.
In the face of a blueprint to verify social media users’ ages, companies have “no more excuses” not to protect children online, von der Leyen said.