As online child protection increasingly comes to the forefront of the European Commission’s agenda, the EU faces a key challenge: how to accurately verify the age of users while ensuring privacy.
This month, France issued new guidelines on online age verification and banned several porn sites, and in recent days the responsible European commissioner has declared the protection of minors “a top priority.” But as age verification moves up the agenda, the European Commission plans to tackle the problem with a wallet expected to come online in 2026.
The 27 EU member states are currently free to set their own age verification rules and no EU standards exist.
Those wanting to access adult websites in Spain will soon have to use the Cartera Digital Beta wallet, an app that records national ID details, to prove they are at least 18 years old and gain access. The system, designed with a strong emphasis on data privacy, will initially only apply to websites in Spain but aims to expand to social media platforms that display adult content outside the country.
Similarly, from 2025, the so-called ‘Caivano Decree’ will require Italians to use the national digital identity system SPID to verify their age when visiting pornographic and gambling websites.
In France, where age verification currently amounts to a self-declaration, either “Yes, I am over 18” or “No, I am under 18”, discussions are underway to add more checks.
In October, the French Regulatory Agency for Audiovisual and Digital Communications (ARCOM) issued new guidelines to protect children online while ensuring privacy. These include improved detection of adult websites through parental control software and the use of AI to estimate users’ ages based on facial recognition.
Platforms that are currently allowed to use credit card information for age verification have until April 2025 to comply with the new guidelines. Gambling sites require proof of residence and a copy of ID. Recently, foreign porn websites were blocked in France because they did not meet the minimum age check.
Meanwhile, in Ireland, the Protection of Children (Online Age Verification) Act 2024 is currently being debated in the Seanad Éireann (Parliament). If passed, websites and apps offering adult content will have to require documents proving users’ age, with the law determining which documents are accepted.
Some apps have taken steps beyond what is required by law worldwide. OnlyFans, a subscription-based social media that hosts primarily erotic content, insists that users provide more than nine identifiers before they can post content.
Streamlining age verification systems
Various EU regulations provide for improved age verification to protect minors. The Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD), which come into full force in February, both require platforms to protect minors from harmful content, while the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) protects children’s data. The proposed Regulation on Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), currently under discussion in the Council of the EU, also relies heavily on identifying minors online to protect them from predators.
In the so-called Leuven Declaration of April 2024, EU leaders pledge, among other things, to find solutions and standards for identity and age verification in the EU member states.
An EU official told journalists earlier this month that plans for an EU Digital Wallet are also aimed at protecting children online. “To have an appropriate age verification system in Europe that is harmonized, and to avoid 27 different systems in Member States, the future solution should revolve around the EU Digital Wallet,” the official said.
The wallet app should store IDs securely, along with driver’s licenses, credit cards and other similar documents, allowing users to confirm their exact age or prove that they fall within a specific age range. “It will not be mandatory, but like the COVID certificate, it will likely become a standard,” the official said. “Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) are obliged to accept the use of eID upon request of the user, for example to prove their age. Websites with age-restricted content that are not VLOPs could be encouraged to accept the use of the European Digital Identity Wallet,” a Commission spokesperson told Euronews.
The Digital Wallet is not expected to be implemented until the end of 2026, so the Commission is currently exploring “medium-term solutions”, the official said, and the executive recently issued a €4 million budget call for the development of an EU-wide age verification system.