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Protection of minors

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The European Union has a 'technically ready' free age check application to protect minors from harmful online content

The aim is that, by the end of the year at the latest, all Member States should be guaranteed access to the 'app' so that they can have a tool at European level to check the actual age of the user accessing social networks from mobile devices or others.

von-der-leyen
Ursula von der Leyen. EFE.

The European Commission announced on Wednesday that it is already 'technically ready' to check the age of users accessing social networks and to verify that platforms respect the limits of access for minors. This tool will be free of charge and will be available 'soon'to users. Brussels has therefore warned companies that they will no longer be excused from complying with European legislation on child protection.

"Platforms can rely entirely on our application to verify age, so there are no more excuses. Europe offers a free and accessible solution to protectour children from harmful and illegal content, "EU Chief Executive Ursula von der Leyen explained at a hearing without a question.

The platforms must have at the end of the year a tool to verify and validate the age of the user and, although they will not be obliged to install the European version, if they do not use it, they must justify that the instrument they use offers sufficient guarantees to comply with national and European regulations.

Although there is no clear timetable, the aim is that, by the end of the year at the latest, all Member States should be guaranteed access to the 'app' so that they can have a tool at European level to check the actual age of the user who accesses social networks from mobile devices or others.

Although the technical details have not been disclosed, the EU Vice-President for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen, who spoke with von der Leyen, has ensured that the system developed guarantees the protection of user data, that users will have 'full data control' when accessing a service with age restrictions from the new European platform.

The European Commission is considering possible measures to limit access to social networks for minors, but so far it has avoided establishing a single common minimum age in all the countries of the European Union due to the technical and legal complexity of articulating a common restriction on something which falls within the competence of each country.

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