With the EU presenting its EU Kids Act, the proposal signifies a strict position against the harms of online platforms, including social media, and risky AI systems which target children.
Certified age verification is widely viewed as the most suitable enforcement tool to implement in practice to protect young people amid a surge in youth accounts and defend against evolving threats. The legislation encodes the necessary restrictions and powers to collect reliable data on users’ ages to get hold of a worsening situation for society.
On Thursday, the EU Commission voted to ban all under-13 year olds from having social media access and ensure parental supervision until 15.
Konstantin Levinzon, co-founder of Planet VPN, comments on why privacy and data minimisation need to be built into age verification systems which fully support age-appropriate access to social media.
“Nobody disputes that protecting children online matters”, he said, echoing regulators and parents’ battles to improve online safety.
But it’s not without challenges. “ID uploads, facial scans and centralised databases all mean collecting the same sensitive data that puts children’s privacy at greater risk, not less. If that data gets breached or misused, it’s the children the law is meant to protect who pay the price”.
Parent-supervised “mini accounts” with parental controls and limited addictive features will be introduced for younger teenagers who start to navigate the internet safely. After this age, children will be able to open and manage their own social media accounts without having to ask permission.
President Ursula von der Leyen and EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen presented the proposal today and categorised video games and AI chatbots as just as harmful as children can spend endless hours scrolling short addictive video content.
Online platforms are being instructed to take the burden from regulators and prove that their age verification measures meet the European-wide standards and are safe by design.
Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, said: “Today, our children are engaging with the most sophisticated technologies ever created. Technology that was never created with their wellbeing in mind. Our KIDS Act is reversing the burden of proof – it is for platforms to show they are safe by design. And we put parents back in the driving seat, giving them the tools to help their children navigate a safer online world.”
How realistic is true privacy-preserving age verification at consumer scale today? Where does responsibility sit when age checks fail: platform, provider, or parent? Identity Week Europe is the best place to discuss challenges with stakeholders across government and industry.
