Minors online, the Europe raises the alert levelThe European Commission has presented a new package of measures to strengthen the protection of minors in cyberspace. At the heart of the initiative are updated and more stringent guidelines for digital platforms and a prototype of an age verification app, designed to prevent very young people from accessing inappropriate content. All this while fully respecting privacy and within the framework of the Digital Services Act (DSA).
The aim is to guarantee minors a safe and informed access to the digital world, reducing the risks associated with harmful content, cyberbullying, unwanted contact and dynamics that encourage online addiction. The app, already ready for the test phase, it will be tested in five countries, including Italy.
A privacy-protecting app: how will it work?
The prototype of the application, defined by the Commission as a real “gold standard” for online age verification, allows you to demonstrate that be over 18 years old without revealing personal information such as name, precise age or identity. Thanks to advanced technologies and a system based onanonymity and the separation between those who issue and those who receive credentials, the app will prevent the tracking or reconstruction of the content viewed by users.
The system, built according to the technical specifications of future European digital identity (eID) wallets, will be compatible with e-wallets that will be introduced by the end of 2026. Eventually, the solution could also be extended to other contexts, such as the online purchase of alcohol or age-restricted products.
The pilot phase is underway, Italy is there
The project now enters into experimental phase: Italy, France, Spain, Greece and Denmark will the first countries to test the solution, with the aim of developing national apps or integrating it directly into their digital identity systems. Online platforms, including those offering adult content, are invited to participate in the test phase.
The first user tests began at the end of June, with the support of the European Safer Internet Centres. The Commission has also planned a progressive scalability of the project, which will involve all Member States and can be adapted to individual national contexts.
Guidelines: More control, less risk
Alongside the app launch, Brussels has published new guidelines on protecting minors online. It is a strategic document which, starting from a risk-based approach, provides concrete recommendations to digital platforms on how to protect young users. Here the main areas of intervention:
- Overly immersive designDigital services should limit the use of mechanisms that stimulate compulsive behavior, such as "streaks" or read receipts in messages, which can encourage excessive use of apps.
- Cyberbullying: platforms will have to guarantee minors the possibility of block or mute other users, also preventing them from being added to groups without their consent. It is also recommended to ban other users from download or take screenshots of content posted by minors, to prevent the unwanted dissemination of intimate or sexualized materials.
- Harmful contentRecommendation systems and algorithms will have to adapt to the explicit preferences expressed by young users. If content is flagged as unwanted, it will no longer need to be suggested.
- Contacts from strangers: minors' accounts will have to be private by default, that is, invisible to those who are not on the friends list, to limit the risk of contact with strangers.
The EU aims for a "better Internet for children"
The new initiatives are part of a broader vision of the European Commission, which has been working for years on the creation of a A safer digital ecosystem for children and adolescentsThe guidelines and the app represent an evolution of the “Better Internet for Kids” strategy, but are also closely linked to the implementation of theArticle 28 of the DSA, which imposes specific obligations on platforms to protect minors.
With this initiative, the EU aims to raise the bar of digital protections and aims to be a model for the rest of the world. "Ensuring the safety of our children and young people online is of fundamental importance to this Commission," said Vice President Henna Virkkunen, reiterating that “platforms no longer have any excuses to continue putting minors at risk.”
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