EU Commission Proposes Mandatory Age Verification for Online Platforms

• The European Commission is drafting the "EU Kids Act," which mandates strict age verification for social media, video platforms, and video games.
• Key proposals include a 15-year age limit for independent accounts on "risky" platforms, parental monitoring for users under 15, and a government-developed age-verification app.
• The legislation aims to curb addictive design features like infinite scrolling and enhance protections against unsolicited contact.

Core Provisions

• Age Thresholds: Young people under 15 would be barred from independent accounts; 13- to 15-year-olds may use "introductory accounts" with restricted functions under parental supervision.
• Verification Requirements: Platforms must implement age checks for all users, including adults, to enforce the new rules.
• Design Standards: Companies must remove "addictive" mechanisms and provide greater user control over recommendation algorithms.
• Pre-Approval Process: Platforms must demonstrate proactive protection strategies to the Commission; new features may face a 30-day approval window before rollout.

Expert and Ethical Concerns

• Censorship Risks: Organizations like the German Ethics Council warn that age-verification technologies could be misused to restrict access to sensitive information, such as political content or sexual education.
• Privacy and Practicality: Over 400 international researchers signed a letter arguing that secure, privacy-preserving, and non-discriminatory age verification at this scale is technically impossible without significant trade-offs.
• Policy Gaps: Critics point out that the Commission's plan lacks a clear scientific consensus, noting that even expert reports on the matter remain inconclusive regarding the actual effectiveness of age barriers in preventing harm.

Next Steps

• The formal legislative draft is expected to be unveiled by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Commissioner Henna Virkkunen.
• Negotiations will proceed through the European Parliament and the Council of the EU.
• Additional measures, such as the "Digital Fairness Act," are also in development, signaling a broader push to regulate child safety and consumer fairness across digital services.