How the EU’s age-verification app for children would work

The European Commission proposed on Thursday (Sep 17) banning children under 13 from social media, with parent-supervised accounts until 15.

Enforcement would rely on a tool Brussels built itself: a free, open-source age verification app that tells a platform whether a user meets an age threshold without revealing their identity.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Brussels “looked at Australia,” which banned social media for under-16s last year, when drafting the proposal.

If passed, the proposed Kids Act would create the world’s largest social media access restriction, covering 450 million people across 27 countries.

WHAT IS THE APP?

A smartphone app developed by the European Commission, presented in April 2026. It is being rolled out through member states, with seven pilot countries: Cyprus, Denmark, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy and Spain. The Commission expects EU-wide availability by the end of 2026.

It will also be used to prove users are over 18 when accessing adult sites, a restriction already implemented under the Digital Services Act.

Under the proposed Kids Act, non-compliance with minors’ rules would fall under DSA enforcement, where penalties can reach up to 6 per cent of global turnover.

The Commission writes the code and standards; the system itself is decentralised. Member states run it through issuers they designate, and the proofs live on the user’s phone. There is no central EU database of ages or of who verified whom.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

A user proves their age once to a nationally designated issuer – a body vetted by the member state, which can be a digital ID provider, a bank or a post office. At a restricted site, the app certifies that the user is above the required age threshold. The platform receives only a yes-or-no response.

Issuance and verification are handled by separate entities. The proof provider is not told which service the proof was used for. Each proof works only once, preventing cross-service tracking. No identity documents or biometric data are retained. The code is open-source, allowing independent scrutiny.

The significance of the EU approach is that it provides a common age–verification mechanism rather than leaving individual platforms to develop and enforce their own systems.

“Online platforms can easily rely on our age verification app. So there are no more excuses,” von der Leyen said.