Ursula Von der Leyen advocates for EU-wide age protections on social media for children.
The president of the European Commission announced that an EU age-verification application is technically complete, and that forthcoming rules regarding minimum social media ages at the bloc level are in progress. France, Spain, and several other countries are already implementing their own measures.
On Tuesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen outlined the EU's strategy to enhance online protections for children, informing MEPs that the age-verification app is ready for citizens and that a Commission initiative to establish minimum ages for social media usage is being developed.
This announcement comes amid a surge of national laws from EU member states proceeding ahead of any overarching regulations. France enacted legislation in January 2026 to prohibit those under 15 from accessing social media platforms, citing a public health emergency.
Spain is considering a ban for those under 16, while Austria, Denmark, and Slovenia are crafting regulations for ages 14, 15, and 15, respectively. Italy and Ireland are also looking into restrictions for ages under 15 and under 16.
The Commission's preferred strategy has not yet been finalized. The European Parliament has suggested a uniform minimum age of 16, but von der Leyen indicated that the Commission wishes to consult experts on the suitable age limit first.
The Digital Services Act mandates that very large online platforms assess and mitigate risks to children, and a series of enforcement actions and risk-assessment audits are currently being undertaken against specific platforms.
The age-verification system mentioned by von der Leyen was developed by the Commission’s digital identity team and employs zero-knowledge cryptographic techniques to verify whether a user meets a specified age requirement without revealing their actual age, identity, or other personal information.
The Commission claims the app is ready for implementation by member states, with the timing of rollout left to the discretion of each country.
This initiative is part of a larger enforcement cycle under the DSA. Meta, TikTok, X, and Snap are currently under investigation by the Commission for their treatment of minors, and some of these inquiries may yield results in the next year.
Additionally, the Commission has directed Apple and Google to incorporate the age-verification system at the operating system level.
Industry reactions have been cautious. Platform operators contend that strict age limits will drive minors towards unregulated or non-EU services, and that the technical challenges of implementing age verification at scale are considerable.
Child safety organizations have urged the Commission to expedite its efforts, pointing to increasing self-reported harm and a continued link between high social media usage and declining mental health among adolescents.
Von der Leyen emphasized the Commission's preference for a unified EU rule over 27 differing national laws, stating, “This is a question for Europe to answer together,” during her remarks to MEPs in Strasbourg. “Children should be protected in the same way wherever they live in our Union.”
A formal proposal from the Commission is anticipated before the autumn break, with current national laws remaining effective in the meantime. Member state regulators will continue to enforce existing DSA obligations irrespective of when a new age-related framework is established.
Privacy advocates have expressed concerns regarding the wider implementation of age-verification infrastructure, arguing that even zero-knowledge systems might gradually evolve into identity verification.
The Commission has stated that the system is specifically designed to avoid such a shift, although full details on governance and auditing have not yet been released.
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Ursula Von der Leyen advocates for EU-wide age protections on social media for children.
Ursula von der Leyen announces that the EU's age-verification application is complete, and the next step involves Commission-led regulations regarding minimum age requirements for children on social media.