A large number of European Union Member States support the introduction of a harmonised EU-wide age verification system to better protect minors, considering that national measures are insufficient to address the cross-border nature of online platforms and that fragmentation of the rules could be exploited by big tech companies.
According to Cyprus’s Deputy Minister for Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, Nicodemos Damianou, whose country currently holds the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union, there is “strong interest” among Member States in exploring “coordinated solutions at European Union level on appropriate age thresholds” as well as “common technical solutions for age verification”. Mr Damianou confirmed that “Cyprus has committed to using at national level the blueprint” for age verification presented by the European Commission, and said there was a “consensus” among Member States that this mechanism constituted “a very solid basis”. However, he warned that “no solution can be 100% effective”.
Spain’s Minister for Digital Transformation, Óscar López Águeda, recalled that Spain and France had already adopted legislation imposing a minimum age for minors’ access to social networks and called for “a ban at European level”.
“A common minimum age would be a good thing for Europe, because it would be easier to implement such a limit”, said Sweden’s Minister for Public Administration, Erik Slottner. He recalled that the conclusions of the study commissioned by the Swedish government recommended setting the minimum age for the use of social networks at 15, while specifying that the government had not yet taken a decision on the matter.
Germany’s Minister for Digital Transformation, Karsten Wildberger, did not wish to anticipate the German government’s position on this “very sensitive issue”. In his view, the best solution is to ensure the safety of platforms and digital models starting at the design stage (security by design). However, in the absence of better solutions, setting a minimum age ultimately constitutes “a preferable solution”.
“Several delegations stressed the potential added value of a better coordinated approach at European level. At the same time, it was recalled that such an approach should leave an appropriate degree of national flexibility, particularly as regards age thresholds and implementation arrangements”, says an EU Council document seen by Agence Europe, which summarises the discussions devoted to this issue at the informal meeting of Telecommunications Ministers, held in Nicosia at the end of April.
Estonia emerged as the Member State most critical of a ban. Minister for Justice and Digital Affairs Lissa-Ly Pakosta acknowledged that “Estonia has a somewhat different view”, placing the emphasis on education. “Every child receives a comprehensive set of knowledge enabling them to protect themselves against threats from the digital environment”, she explained.
European Commission Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen said that the Commission will continue to enforce the Digital Services Act (DSA) as regards the protection of minors on online platforms. She also recalled that the recommendations expected this summer from the special group of experts set up by the European Commission “will provide the basis for coordinated action concerning the possible introduction of a delay in access to social networks”.
Nearly 20 Member States broadly support the European age verification model presented by the European Commission. This is notably the case for Germany, Greece, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Romania. Moreover, Germany, Denmark, Luxembourg, Slovenia, and Bulgaria have indicated their intention to integrate this age verification application into their national digital portfolios, in line with the European model, according to explanations from a European source to Agence Europe.
France, the Czech Republic, and Austria nevertheless believe that this model should not be mandatory and that compatible solutions should be allowed. For its part, Estonia expressed cybersecurity concerns, recalling that the European prototype had been hacked only a few minutes after its launch. Austria also insisted on the need to make possible technical improvements.
Greece, as well as Luxembourg, Slovakia and Poland, support the idea of requiring platforms to integrate age verification tools (see EUROPE 13867/10). (Original version in French by Ana Pisonero Hernández)