EU Plans To Launch An Age Verification App To Protect Minors And Users Online

Over the past few months, governments around the world have raised a wide range of concerns about the cyber risks related to online platforms, such as social networking sites and other social media websites.

A major pain point is the harm such platforms cause minors—a concern that led Australia to introduce a world-first bill—The Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024—that enforces a minimum age of 16 years for social media usage.

The bill was also set to bring in stronger penalties for systemic breaches, which could see social media platforms fined $49.5 million.

Prior to this, attorneys general from 14 states and districts in the United States sued TikTok for allegedly harming children’s mental health and misleading the public about its platform's safety. The claim stated that TikTok promotes harmful features, such as autoplaying videos and beauty filters, which keep children engaged longer and expose them to dangerous viral challenges.

TikTok has been embroiled in controversy over the past few months, as the platform was banned from the country, only to enjoy a quick overturn—albeit under some conditions.

Meta wasn’t spared from this ire, either.

The social media giant was sued by 33 US states, where the lawsuit claimed that the company intentionally made their platforms addictive to children, and collected data on kids aged below 13 without their parents’ consent, making it a breach of federal law.

Of course, the harmful effects of social media aren’t solely restricted to specific countries—minors in Europe, too, are affected by the downsides of social media.

To curb such issues, the European Union (EU) introduced the Digital Services Act (DSA)—through the European Commission (EC)—which aims to ensure a safer online environment for minors and other users.

This mandates that “very large online platforms” (VLOPs) must ensure adequate measures are taken to prevent minors from accessing explicit content. The DSA also comes with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which aims to make the markets in the digital sector fairer and more contestable.


Unfortunately, as per a report by the EC, four major adult content websites found themselves under a formal in-depth investigation into suspected breaches of the DSA.

These included failures to ensure inadequate age verification measures and other “appropriate and proportionate measures to ensure a high level of privacy, safety and security for minors, in particular with age verification tools to safeguard minors from adult content.”

“The online space should be a safe environment for children to learn and connect,” said Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy. “Our priority is to protect minors and allow them to navigate safely online. Together with the Digital Service Coordinators in the Member States we are determined to tackle any potential harm to young online users.”

The European Commission isn’t just highlighting concerns; it’s taking practical steps to curb them.

In addition to the investigation, the EC revealed plans to introduce an age verification application that will allow users to verify their age without disclosing personal details to online websites, portals, and platforms.

The Commission’s solution aims to be privacy-preserving, user-friendly, and interoperable, and would require EU users to prove they are old enough to access age-restricted sites, “starting with being over 18 years of age for accessing adult-restricted online content, such as pornography, gambling, alcohol, and others.”

This move is a temporary, short-term solution that’s expected to come into effect by July 2025 and will remain in place until the EU Digital Identity Wallet comes online (expected to be available by the end of 2026).

This plan also comes just before the 30th edition of Infosecurity Europe, an event that showcases the latest advances in cybersecurity technology, artificial intelligence (AI) & cloud security.

The event takes place at ExCeL London—an international exhibition and convention center—from June 3 to 5, 2025, and comes with the mission of “Building a Safer Cyber World.” It comes with nine content theatres, more than 200 hours of talks, around 250 speakers (including renowned physicist Professor Brian Cox), and over 380 exhibitors, drawing in over 13,000 professionals.

Do you think this move by the European Commission will help curb the harmful effects of social media on minors?

Let us know in the comments below!