EU age verification – is the eID a de facto requirement?
Ursula von der Leyen is calling for EU-wide age verification for children online. Critics warn of censorship and compulsory age verification for everyone.
On Monday, 13 July, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, spoke out in favour of stricter age verification for young people on social media, saying it was clear that the EU needs age-appropriate restrictions for platforms. This is based on a report published by the co-chairs of the special panel on child safety online on said Monday.
What does the report say?
The 156-page report, commissioned by von der Leyen herself, recommends an EU-wide access restriction to «social media+» for young people under 13. Specifically, children up to the age of 2 are to have no access at all to «internet-enabled devices»; those 3 to 12 only under supervision; and those 13 to 18 only to «age-appropriate» content.
In addition, the committee advises that, when implementing these recommendations, parental authority shouldn’t be solely relied on; instead, «effective age-assurance systems» should be established. In this context, von der Leyen once again promoted the European age-verification app, colloquially known as the «mini wallet».
What do EU member states say?
Several EU states already have ideas, or even ongoing legislative processes on social media regulation. France, Sweden and Greece already wanted to introduce a ban for under-15s, and Denmark a partial ban for under-16s, but the European Commission classified these plans as incompatible with EU legislation.
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In Germany, Chancellor Friedrich Merz has rejected a blanket ban. Those broadly in favour of regulation (the CDU/CSU) face stark opposition from critics of mandatory age verification (Die Linke).
What do critics say?
Critics are sceptical of the plan for various reasons. In an open letter, IT experts warn against letting these age-verification measures absolve Big Tech of responsibility: young people who know how to bypass these blocks will gain access to unregulated and unsafe services anyway. It would also lead to the centralised control of access to online content, opening the door to potential abuse (such as censorship). The letter also argues there’s no scientific evidence that such bans are effective: studies from Australia, a pioneer state when it comes to age verification for young people, show mixed results.
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The critics also take issue with the term «social media+». Under this term, the authors group not just Instagram, TikTok and the like, but, more broadly, «services that may be available to minors and contain age-inappropriate and/or risky features». Video games, AI systems, online marketplaces and the like are cited as examples.
The age-verification app promoted by von der Leyen in this context is said to be particularly strong on privacy thanks to the use of technical standards such as «Zero Knowledge Proof» – it doesn’t process any identity documents or biometric data, only verifying that the user is of legal age. However, the EUDI wallet required for it is currently voluntary. If internet users – including adults – were required to verify themselves, it would become compulsory in practice.
What’s next?
Ursula von der Leyen has announced that she will first read the report carefully. The Commission intends to put forward a proposal on possible implementation after the summer, likely as part of the State of the Union address, which will take place in September 2026. It's not yet clear what the law would look like or how the checks would be carried out.
A Commission proposal would be the first step in the EU's multi-stage legislative process. The European Parliament and the Council of Member States would then need to deliberate on it and reach an agreement. This could take more than a year, and the outcome could differ significantly from the original proposal.
It's also unclear whether such a rule would take the form of a regulation or a directive. If it were a directive, every individual EU country would need to draft its own corresponding law. However, the European Commission has already hinted in the past that it would prefer an EU-wide solution.
I've been tinkering with digital networks ever since I found out how to activate both telephone channels on the ISDN card for greater bandwidth. As for the analogue variety, I've been doing that since I learned to talk. Though Winterthur is my adoptive home city, my heart still bleeds red and blue.
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