A new EU age-verification app is to be delivered in July, according to reporting by The Financial Times. The tool is designed to enable users to confirm their age without revealing sensitive personal data to online platforms, signalling the EU’s intent to strengthen enforcement around child safety in the digital space. Available before the awaited European digital identity wallet, this app is seen as a stepping stone towards secure access to all services becomes available through the centralised wallet. Whilst the UK and Ofcom has taken a tough enforcement approach to identity service providers integrating with online platforms, the EU’s only been mandatory about legal age barriers on pornography sites or sites that children can access.
The wallet, expected in 2026, could become a pivotal mechanism for regulating online content providers. Until then, the launch of this verification tool may impose stricter oversight of tech companies deemed to be falling short in managing online safety risks.
Henna Virkkunen, the EU’s technology lead, urged tech companies and platforms to take the initiative in their duties to safeguard children and adopt verification to manage the risks rather than waiting for governments to enforce it.
“The protection of minors is a very important priority for us, and we will take more action here,” she told The Financial Times.
Sites designed to have children scrolling for hours on end should create private accounts by default for children, so they can’t be contacted by strangers. Instagram has introduced Teen accounts for 13 year-olds and Virkkunen suggested platforms taking individual responsibility over the age thresholds to create teenagers’ accounts.
Meanwhile, some EU member states are advocating for a bloc-wide minimum age to access social media.
Despite ongoing frictions between Brussels and Washington over digital trade policy and tech regulation, Virkkunen noted that child safety remains a shared transatlantic priority. She recently travelled to the U.S. to engage with technology executives and government officials on the issue.
“Also in the US there is a lot of discussion about protection of minors, also in other countries worldwide,” she said. “This is now a high priority.”
Meta and TikTok are currently under EU investigation for allegedly employing user experience models that encourage excessive screen time with algorithm-driven content.
The EU’s initiative marks another step in its ongoing campaign to hold Big Tech accountable, positioning itself as a global leader in digital regulation while increasing pressure on platforms to safeguard younger users.
