European Union Commission proposes online safeguards for minors
The European Commission has proposed a set of guidelines aimed at ensuring a safer online environment for children, while preserving opportunities for learning, creativity, and communication. The guidelines, which result from an extensive consultation period including input from young people, detail when and how platforms should verify the age of their users.
At the forefront of the initiative, Denmark, Greece, Spain, France, and Italy will engage with the Commission on the technical solution for the national age verification apps. The European Commission has also proposed a prototype of an age-verification app for the EU's Digital Services Act, prioritizing user privacy and allowing users to prove they are over 18 without revealing other personal information.
The age-verification app is designed to be user-friendly, prioritizing privacy. It will be tested and customized in collaboration with EU Member States, online platforms, and end-users to ensure a seamless and secure experience.
The guidelines adopt a risk-based approach, recognizing that online platforms may pose different types of risks to minors. Age verification is recommended for adult content platforms and other platforms that pose high risks to the safety of minors. The guidelines specify that age assurance methods should be accurate, reliable, robust, non-intrusive, and non-discriminatory.
In addition to age verification, the guidelines also include recommendations to reduce minors' exposure to addictive design practices, empower minors to block or mute users, prioritizing explicit feedback from users regarding harmful content, and setting minors' accounts as private by default.
A report on the Targeted Public Consultation on the Guidelines, a report on the Call for Evidence on the Guidelines, a report on a focus group on the Guidelines, and a fact page on the age verification blueprint are all available for public review.
The guidelines aim to minimize risks for children, such as exposure to harmful content and behavior, while ensuring high levels of privacy, safety, and security for all users. The Commission's proposal is a significant step towards creating a safer and more secure online environment for children across the European Union.
