Spain’s digital wallet to be included in EU age assurance app pilot project

In tandem with enforcement action on age assurance, the European Commission is ramping up activity on the EU age verification app, now scheduled to launch in July.

Also this week it was revealed that Spain’s “pajaporte” digital wallet has been chosen as a pilot technology for developing an age assurance tool that can serve as a foundation on which individual member states can build out their specific regulations and languages – a so-called white label age assurance app for the EU.

While the Spanish wallet is primarily used for age assurance, the Cartera Digital Beta can serve as a container for digital identity more broadly. According to Spanish news agency EFE, Spain is among those nations that has done “the most advanced work in developing an age verification app,” which contributed to its selection.

Initial technical documentation suggests users will have to register in the app using their electronic ID, digital certificate or the Spanish Cl@ve system. Per reporting in ElDiario.es, “during this process, 30 anonymous credentials valid for 30 days will be created. When accessing a porn website, it will display a QR code, which the user must scan with the app, which will use one of those credentials. Each credential can be used up to 10 times on the same site, but not on different sites.”

The process leverages a so-called double-blind verification system, in which the site receives no personal information from a user, and the verifying third party has no knowledge of how or where a credential is used.

In addition to the Spanish project, France and Greece initiatives were also selected. Deutsche Telekom (DT) and Scytáles were awarded a tender to develop a specific age check component for the EUDI wallet in February. According to officials, “The objective is to provide a European age verification tool that serves as a common basis so that each country can adapt it to its national circumstances. This aims to encourage all tools to be interoperable and prevent each country from developing its own national solutions, which are less effective compared to large platforms.” ​​

Age assurance measures have become a high priority for the Commission, as global attitudes shift toward regulating online content. In comments to the Financial Times, the EU’s tech chief Henna Virkkunen says “many of the online platforms are using a design that is very addictive. Minors are using [these apps] hours and hours, they spend their whole day on mobile. Of course, this has an impact on their wellbeing.”

Virkkunen emphasizes the ability of operators to “assess and mitigate the risks they are posing,” and tailor the app accordingly.

Beyond age gates for adult content, the principles of anonymity and data sovereignty are applicable for more general EUDI wallet use cases. “The European digital wallet will allow European citizens to identify themselves to the government and public and private companies, particularly when they require strong authentication (banks, energy companies, etc.), without having to share their data, as is currently the case when registering with a username and password,” says a statement from the Spanish ministry for Digital Transformation.

Last week, ministers from Spain, France and Greece coordinated on a discussion paper regarding mandatory age restrictions for social media platforms ahead of a meeting with their EU counterparts on June 6.

Article Topics

age verification  |  Cartera Digital Beta  |  digital ID  |  digital wallets  |  double-blind age assurance  |  EU  |  EU age verification  |  EU Digital Identity Wallet  |  pilot project  |  Spain