“Our European age verification app is technically ready and will soon be available for citizens to use“, announced the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, during a media appearance, in which It has not clarified if or when its use will be mandatory.
Many European governments have months pressuring Brussels to take action to protect minors on the internet. Countries like Austria, Denmark, Greece, Poland, Slovenia or Spain have announced restrictions on access to social networks for adolescents and children. Portugal, Germany, or Italy They have already made them effective and France It’s very close.
“It is our duty protect to our children in digital world, just as we do in the physical world,” said Von der Leyen, who cited the cyberacoso or the access to harmful content or even illegal as the main risks. “To achieve this effectively, we need a harmonized European approach“, declared the president.
A digital certificate
The application will be based on the same technology which was used during the covid pandemic to create a digital vaccination certificate. This was recognized by more than 70 countries and allowed travel to four continents. The app will work with an ID or passport that allows confirming the age of the user when accessing any online service.
The Commission has defended in any case that will be respected “the highest privacy standards” and no other personal information, beyond age, will be revealed. The application will be available for mobile phones, computers and tabletsand the code will be public so that other countries outside the bloc can replicate it. “Online platforms can easily trust our age verification app. So there are no more excuses“Von der Leyen said.
A digital summit
Next Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron has called a virtual summit precisely to coordinate the prohibition of access to social networks for minors. The President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sanchezhas confirmed his participation. Also Von der Leyen herself, in addition to representatives of Italy, Netherlands or Ireland.
France, together with Denmark, Greece, Italy, Cyprus, Ireland and also Spain, will be the first country to integrate age verification app in their digital wallets. “I hope that more Member States and the private sector will follow suit so that soon all citizens will be able to use it”said the president, who has not clarified whether Its use will be mandatory in the EU, or when.
European legislation
Henna Virkkunenvice president of the Commission for technological sovereignty, recalled that the Executive determined last March that several pornographic content platforms, Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos did not have an adequate verification system of the age of the users. “Since the platforms do not have adequate tools to verify age, we came up with the solution ourselves,” Virkkunen said.
Beyond age, the Commission is taking measures in other areas to protect children and adolescents on the internet. In February, for example, Brussels demanded that Tiktok change its “addictive” design. The EU, Virkkunen said, “will not tolerate platforms making money at the expense of our children,” adding that “will not make concessions regarding the well-being” of minors.
Furthermore, last February, the Community Executive also presented a strategy against cyberbullying, of which 1 in 6 adolescents are victims, according to figures from the Commission itself. The objective of the strategy is to promote awareness, prevention and the fight against bullying among children, teachers, parents, and mental health professionals.
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