EU Calls for Rapid Deployment of Age-Verification App to Shield Minors Online

The European Commission on 29 April urged all EU member states to roll out a newly finalised age-verification application before the end of the year. The tool is designed to let users demonstrate they meet a required age threshold without disclosing their exact age, identity or other personal data, thereby restricting minors from accessing content deemed unsuitable.

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The push follows the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which obliges online platforms to protect minors’ privacy and safety. In February, the Commission reported preliminary findings that TikTok’s design violated the DSA. On the same day as the April announcement, Facebook and Instagram were formally charged with DSA breaches for allowing children under 13 to use their services.

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• Henna Virkkunen, EU Commissioner for the Internal Market, led the briefing in Brussels.

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• European Commission – responsible for finalising the app blueprint and setting implementation guidelines.

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• EU Member States – tasked with creating national verification solutions aligned with the blueprint.

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• Online Platforms – Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, among others, are subject to DSA compliance checks.

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• February 2024 – Commission releases preliminary findings on TikTok’s DSA breach.

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• April 29 2024 – Commission publicly urges rapid national rollout of the age-verification app.

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• End 2024 – Deadline for member states to provide a digital identification wallet and integrate the verification tool where desired.

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• The app must block access for users identified as under 13 years old.

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• Implementation is required by the end of the calendar year to align with the EU’s digital identification wallet rollout.

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The Commission emphasised that the blueprint enables privacy-preserving age checks while meeting DSA obligations. It called on governments to develop national solutions that can operate either as a standalone app or as part of the forthcoming digital identification wallet, which each member state must deliver to citizens by year-end.

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> “It will allow everybody to keep browsing the internet in full privacy while ensuring that children do not have access to content that is not meant for them,” — Henna Virkkunen, EU Commissioner

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The verification system seeks to balance two EU policy goals: safeguarding minors from harmful online material and preserving user privacy. Successful integration could set a precedent for privacy-first age-verification across digital services, while non-compliance may trigger further DSA enforcement actions against major platforms.

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Member states must publish national verification frameworks and integrate the tool with digital ID wallets before the year’s close. The Commission indicated that compliance monitoring will continue, with potential additional penalties for platforms that fail to enforce age restrictions under the DSA.

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