Von der Leyen: 'Age verification app ready on social media'

"Our European app" tested in five Member States including Italia "for age verification is technically ready and will soon be available to citizens. This app will allow users to prove their age when accessing online platforms." This was announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at a press point in Brussels.

"It is up to parents to raise their children, not the platforms," he added, pointing out that social platforms offer an environment that is "addictive" and is not an environment that is "good for developing young minds".

"When it comes to the safety of children online," von der Leyen further points out, "the situation is extremely worrying. One in six children is a victim of online bullying. One in eight children is an online bully. Social media platforms offer highly addictive designs, endless scrolling, which fuels addiction. Short videos grab attention. Content is highly personalised and targeted. The time our children spend in front of screens has never been higher, and this is time they don't spend on the playground or with their peers. And the more time they spend online, the more likely they are to be exposed to harmful and illegal content, as well as the risk of being lured by online predators. This environment is not good for young, developing minds. Therefore, I have listened carefully to parents who do not have adequate solutions to protect their children. I share their concerns. I have listened to their concerns. It is up to parents to educate their children, not platforms. And I have also listened to the concerns of our Member States".

'Online platforms,' von der Leyen points out, 'can easily rely on our age verification app. So there are no more excuses. Europe offers a free and easy-to-use solution that can protect our children from harmful and illegal content. And we see that more and more Member States are making great progress. France, Denmark, Greece, Italia, Spain, Cyprus and Ireland are leading the way. They are planning to integrate the app into their national digital wallets. And I hope that other Member States and the private sector will follow suit, so that every citizen will be able to use this app soon".

In Italia, the service will be provided within the App IO, where the digital purse IT-Wallet is already in operation. A table involving Instituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato (Ipzs), PagoPa, Dipartimento per la trasformazione Digitale and Agcom has been set up for the development. Several knots still need to be unravelled: in particular, it is not yet clear how much the service will cost and who will have to finance it.