EU proposes age verification app for children’s social media access
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The European Commission proposed a new law and accompanying app to restrict children under 13 from social media platforms, with supervised access until age 15. The Commission plans to roll out a free, open-source age verification app across member states, beginning with pilot programs in Cyprus, Denmark, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, and Spain, with EU-wide availability expected by late 2026.
The app will allow users to prove their age to platforms without revealing their identity, responding only with a yes-or-no confirmation. National bodies, like banks or post offices, will verify ages once through the app, and these proofs will be stored on the user’s phone, the Commission will write the code but not maintain a central database.
This approach differs from Australia’s recent attempt to ban social media for under-16s, which relied on platforms to implement age verification themselves and faced enforcement challenges. The EU intends to enforce compliance with its proposed “Kids Act” through the Digital Services Act, potentially levying penalties of up to 6 percent of a platform’s global turnover for violations. Several EU countries are already moving forward with similar legislation.
Greece intends to implement an under-15 ban soon, while Spain awaits a parliamentary vote on its own under-16 ban. However, France’s Constitutional Council recently blocked a national under-15 ban, highlighting potential legal challenges to the EU proposal.
