D9+ ministers encourage privacy preserving EU-wide age verification

This week saw the publication of the Luxembourg Declaration, a text marking the meeting of D9+ ministers in Luxembourg to discuss priorities for EU policymakers. Near the top of this list is the protection of minors online, which the document calls “an increasingly urgent priority.”

The discussion figures into a broader agenda addressing ambitions to accelerate Europe’s digital transition without derailing simplification, and how removing barriers in the bloc could strengthen European competitiveness and sovereignty. It calls for “concrete measures to provide a safe and age-appropriate online environment for minors online,” emphasizing the need for a “common and coordinated European solution to this inherently cross-border challenge.”

The document notes the “opportunities and challenges regarding the use of the European Commission’s age verification blueprint, as well as the possibility to integrate age verification features into the EU Digital Identity Wallet.” In that, it tacitly recognizes that any policy at play is being developed on a dynamic landscape that is still in flux, with major regulatory changes on the way that could dramatically reshape the conversation.

Regardless, the Declaration contains three recommendations for the present moment, to improve online safety for kids. First, “make platforms safe by design and age appropriate by default by addressing dark patterns and harmful and addictive features.”

“Platforms must adapt to the age and vulnerability of users, not the other way around,” the document says.

The second call is for a common European approach that better leverages coordinated enforcement of EU rules.

The third carries the most significance for biometrics vendors providing online age assurance. The ministers declare that the EU should “combine regulation, technology and education for real impact by encouraging privacy preserving EU-wide age verification, strengthening enforcement, and investing in digital literacy, parental support and awareness.”

Here, “privacy preserving EU-wide age verification” is likely most accurately taken to mean some variant of the white label age verification app, or a wallet-based solution involving mobile credentials.

Where that leaves the private sector is uncertain.

Article Topics

age verification  |  D9+  |  EU age verification  |  EU Digital Identity Wallet  |  Europe  |  regulation