Joint press release: Commission presents guidelines and age verification app prototype for a safer online space for children

Today, the Commission presented guidelines for protecting minors and a prototype age-verification app under the Digital Services Act (DSA). These measures ensure that children and young people can enjoy the online world while minimizing risks like exposure to harmful content.

Guidelines on the protection of minors

The guidelines ensure high privacy and safety levels for children on online platforms, developed through extensive consultations with young people.

The guidelines recommend addressing:

Addictive design: Minors are vulnerable to addictive practices. The guidelines suggest limiting their exposure and disabling features like streaks and read receipts.

Cyberbullying: Recommendations include empowering minors to block users and prohibiting accounts from downloading or screenshotting minors content.

Harmful content: Guidelines give young users control over their viewing options and prioritize user feedback over browsing behavior monitoring.
Unwanted contact from strangers: Platforms should set minors accounts to private by default to reduce contact risks.

The guidelines adopt a risk-based approach, recognizing that online platforms pose different risks based on their nature, size, and user base.

Age verification solution

The prototype age verification app is user-friendly and protects privacy, allowing users to prove they are over 18 without disclosing personal information. It will be tested with Member States and platforms, with Denmark, Greece, Spain, France, and Italy as frontrunners.

The guidelines also specify when platforms should verify users ages, recommending it for adult content platforms and others posing high risks to minors.

Background

The guidelines were developed through research, feedback, and consultations. The age verification blueprint began in early 2025, laying the groundwork for age-appropriate services and ensuring compatibility with the European Digital Identity Wallets (eID) to be deployed by 2026.

The guidelines build on discussions in the working group on the protection of minors and further strengthen the Commissions efforts through various initiatives.