It is difficult to imagine that children can walk in a store to buy alcohol or go to a nightclub by simply saying that they are old enough. “No bouncer, no identity controls, just a simple:” Yes, I am older than 18, “outlines Caroline Stage Olsen, the Danish Minister for Digital Affairs, Monday in Brussels. And yet, she continues: “It has been online for years.”
The European Commission, under the wings of the Danish EU presidency, wants to change that. It is time for ‘boundaries’ in favor of a ‘safe online childhood’, European Commissioner and Vice -President of the European Commission, Henna Virkkunen, falls her, during the presentation of a new online guideline for minors.
Young people must be protected against online risks such as grooming (digital children’s locks), harmful content and commercial practices, problematic and addictive behavior and cyberbullying. According to Stage Olsen, that is desperately needed. She says she is “stunned” about the figures: 48 percent of the children under ten have a profile on social media and for thirteen -year -olds that is even 94 percent.
Step further
The Minors Directive is part of the DSA, the European Digital Services Act (Digital Services Act). That law already ensures that large tech companies prevent illegal content and disinformation on their platforms. But the law is under pressure. American tech companies such as X and Meta that are called to account by Europe complain about administrative burdens and censorship.
Brussels goes one step further with the new directive. The EU wants the profiles of minors to be placed on ‘private’ by default, so that personal information and photos remain hidden from people with whom they have no contact. In addition, young people should not be able to end up in an algorit gutter and get more control over their feeds. To prevent cyberbullying, children must give explicit permission to be added to groups. To prevent sexual extortion or the spread of sexualized or intimate images, it must be impossible to download images or to take screenshots of images placed by minors. Instruments for parental supervision must be improved online.
A Danish study found that seven in ten children give up a false, higher age online
But that’s not all. The committee launches a prototype of an age verification app that will also fall under the DSA. This means that the ‘technical apologies of tech companies’ must be definitively parried for the ages of users. “A Danish study found that seven in ten children give a false, higher age online,” said Minister Stage Olsen.
Via the app access to content for adults – think of pornography or gambling – can be verified and refused. The age limits can be adjusted and will be in line with the applicable legislation of the Member States. In Denmark, the app can also be used offline, explains Stage Olsen, for example when selling alcohol.
The age verification app will become part of the EU Digital Identity Wallet, which must be ready for use at the end of 2026. Pilots will soon be carried out in Denmark, Greece, Spain, France and Italy.