Europe’s online age verification app is here

european online Age verification The application is ready.

The app works with passports or ID cards, is designed to be “completely anonymous” for the people who use it, works on any device (smartphones, tablets, PCs), and is available Open source. “Best of all, online platforms can easily rely on our app for age verification, so there are no more excuses.” He said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during a press conference on Wednesday. “Europe offers a free, easy-to-use solution that can protect our children from harmful and illegal content.”

High expectations

“We have a duty to protect our children in the online world just as we do in the offline world,” von der Leyen said at the press conference on Wednesday. “To do this effectively, we need a coordinated European approach.” “One of the central issues is the question, how can we ensure a technical solution for age verification that is valid across Europe? Today, I can announce that we have the answer.”

This answer takes the form of an open source application that any private company can reuse, as long as it complies with European privacy standards and offers the same technical solution across the EU. The user downloads the application, agrees to the terms and conditions, sets up a PIN or biometric access, and proves his or her age through an electronic identification system, or by showing a passport or ID card (in which case biometric verification is also provided). The app does not store your name, date of birth, ID number or any other personal information, according to the European Commission, but only the fact that you are over a certain age.

Then, when someone using the app wants to access a social network (minimum age: 13 years), a porn site (minimum age: 18 years), or other age-protected content, if they are logged in from a computer, they will only need to scan the QR code shown on the site they want to visit. On the other hand, if a person logs in from a smartphone, the app will send proof of age directly. The system cannot access the document through which the user verified it in the first place.

Adoption event

The need to introduce a common system for the entire European Union It has been discussed for some timeAccording to the commission’s technicians, the artwork has now been completed. Of course, it will still be possible to circumvent the system – all it takes is an adult lending his phone to a younger friend – but the technological infrastructure exists, and it will be up to EU member states to decide whether to integrate it into national digital wallets or develop standalone apps.

“No more excuses”

For the app to be truly effective, platforms must be obligated to verify the age of their users, and this is where things get tricky. the Digital Services Lawany It entered into force in 2024It requires “very large online platforms” – those with more than 45 million monthly users in the EU – to take concrete steps to mitigate systemic risks associated with child protection, with severe penalties for non-compliance.

“This is why Europe got the Digital Services Act: to call on internet platforms to take up their responsibilities,” Hina Virkkonen, executive vice-president of the European Commission, said at a press conference. “Because Europe will not tolerate platforms making money at the expense of our children.” She added that after the investigation into TikTok, European institutions plan to take similar measures against Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, in addition to four pornographic sites. “Since the platforms did not have sufficient age verification tools, we developed the solution ourselves,” he concluded. In short, as von der Leyen also notes, “there are no more excuses.”

Just the minimum

Until now, this is the European framework that defines the general rules. On this basis, Member States could consider taking more restrictive measures. Italy was one of the first countries to discuss how to regulate minors’ use of social media, but it has not come up with anything concrete yet. Elsewhere in the European Union, French President Emmanuel Macron has been a leader on the issue, pushing France to discuss a rule to ban social networks for minors under 15 altogether. So far, the measure has enjoyed broad political support – but the outcome depends largely on compatibility with the Digital Services Act and the availability of effective age verification systems such as the app just launched by the European Commission.

This article originally appeared on Wired Italy And it was translated.