Call for stronger online age restrictions to come from major EU party

As debates over age checks and online safety laws roil from Washington to Canberra, some in the EU are calling for even tighter controls on online content, to the consternation of some member states. The European People’s Party, a center-right party that Politico calls “Europe’s largest political family,” is reportedly planning to make official its support for a system that bars users under 16 from social media without parental consent.

Reporting from MLex says a paper circulating in draft form expresses the need for “trustworthy and privacy preserving” online age verification, and also argues that algorithms should be “required to incorporate safeguards that actively protect minors from harmful content, manipulation, and other online risks.” The plan takes cues from Australia’s law restricting social accounts to those 16 and up.

As a vehicle for these changes, the EPP is said to be targeting the planned Digital Fairness Act, a projected piece of EU legislation for 2026.

According to Heise, which has a breakdown of various political positions on the plan, the push is for “mandatory age checks on devices, in app stores, social networks and web services.”

“They are even calling for mandatory identification of all users, which could jeopardize anonymity online.”

Heise says right-wing populist parties Patriots for Europe and ECR are “also pushing for age verification, but attach conditions to their approval: the measures should not restrict freedom of expression, should not lead to surveillance, and should be decided at the national level. Ultimately, parents should have the say.”

Meanwhile, a draft report on the Digital Fairness Act by Christel Schaldemose, a Danish member of the Social Democrat party, explores the idea of a universal, mandatory age check applied across the EU. This is on top of the European Commission’s age verification app, which five member states are currently testing.

And civil rights organizations like European Digital Rights (EDRi) continue to point fingers at the platforms themselves, arguing that an “overly narrow focus on age-restriction obscures the fact that systemic design decisions at platform level are the root cause of harm that affects children and adults alike.”

Article Topics

age verification  |  digital identity  |  EU age verification  |  Europe  |  legislation  |  regulation  |  social media