EU releases age-verification app

Today, the President of the European Commission (the executive body of the European Union), Ursula von der Leyen, announced an EU age-verification app.

Users download the app, which works on any device including phones and computers, input their passport or ID card, and can prove their age when accessing online services, von der Leyen said in a live statement, the transcript of which is available on the EC's website. She said it's "completely anonymous" and users can't be tracked. Apparently, only one's age credential will be stored.

Von der Leyen compared the creation of this app to that of the COVID app once vaccines became available. Users could scan their vaccine cards if they needed proof of vaccination to travel. "Seventy-eight countries across four continents were using this app, so it was a huge success. And now we have taken this success and applied it to the age verification app," she said. "It follows the same principles, the same model."

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Various countries are already planning to integrate the age-verification app into their digital wallets, including France, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Spain, Cyprus, and Ireland, von der Leyen said. Online platforms can also use the app or look at its code, as it's open source.

Von der Leyen said she's listened to concerns from both parents and member states of the EU, which is why she hosted the first meeting of a special panel on children's online safety a month ago. The second meeting will be tomorrow.

In recent years, countries across the Western world have enacted age verification laws with an outward objective to keep minors off of pornographic sites or viewing material deemed "restricted to adults" or "harmful to minors." Around half of the United States has these laws, while various EU states like France and Italy have established them as well. The UK also has age-verification with the Online Safety Act.

Two preliminary studies, however, have shown that age verification doesn't work for this purpose, as people (including minors) can use VPNs to pretend to be in a jurisdiction without these laws, or they can go to non-compliant sites. It remains to be seen how this new app in the EU will handle these cases, however.

Last week, Mashable reported that age-verification laws are hurting sex educators and sex workers, either by impacting their work or resulting in lower income.