Keeping children safe online is high on Europe’s agenda - and age verification is a key part of the conversation. The EU is now developing a harmonised age-verification solution designed to be secure, privacy-preserving, easy to use, and simple for digital services across the European Union to integrate.
To support the rollout, the European Commission adopted a recommendation in April 2026 urging Member States to speed up implementation and make the EU age-verification app available by the end of 2026. A dedicated developer and integrator hub was also launched to help progress the technical work.
However, technical development is only part of the picture. In May 2026, the European Commission, with the support of EUN, the contractor of the BIK platform, convened a variety of stakeholders or a dedicated workshop on the proposed app. The session highlighted the app’s key features, explained its current state of play, and created space for questions, discussion, and practical feedback.
The discussion brought together civil society organisations, child- and digital-rights organisations, consumer groups representatives, academics, educators, and the European Safer Internet Centres (SICs). Contributions from a BIK Youth Ambassador also helped keep young people’s perspectives at the centre of the conversation.
Several key themes arose:
- How to ensure young people feel included in decisions that affect their online lives.
- How to give children and teenagers meaningful input into design.
- How to ensure parents and caregivers are fully engaged in the conversations, understand the benefits of online safety measures, and are aware of their role in applying them in family contexts.
- How can uptake be ensured across different communities and demographics.
- How to make sure the full protections of the Digital Services Act (DSA) are implemented and platforms are held accountable, alongside initiatives such as the age-verification app.
- How to address the possible circumvention of technical safeguards, beyond the app’s device-binding features.
- How different age thresholds could be applied within the app for different services and use cases.
- How to avoid excluding people who do not have smartphones or cannot verify their identity through standard methods (such as a passport or credit card).
- How to make the resulting apps work across borders, including for people visiting the EU without an EU digital identity.
- The youth representative, the teacher and the Safer Internet Centres highlighted the importance of continuing to be able to use social media to reach young people, as well as the need for sufficient funding for large-scale awareness-raising campaigns, in formal and informal education settings.
Next steps
Overall, the workshop highlighted broad support for a harmonised EU approach to age verification, while underlining the importance of inclusivity, continued improvements, and the meaningful involvement of young people in shaping and promoting online safety measures.
In the coming months, forerunner Member States such as Denmark, France, Greece, Italy and Spain will continue their work to publish interoperable and customised national age-verification solutions. Meanwhile, the Commission will, in line with its recommendation, continue to work with all Member States, including with national authorities and Digital Services Coordinators (DSCs), to quickly make robust and privacy-preserving age verification available to all EU citizens.
Want to explore the wider policy landscape? These resources give a useful starting point for understanding the EU’s approach to online safety:
- The Digital Services Act (DSA)
- The Digital Services Act (DSA) explained 2023 - Measures to protect minors online (family-friendly booklet)
- The Digital Services Act (DSA) Guidelines explained 2025 - What platforms should do to protect minors online (family-friendly booklet)
- AI Act
- eIDAS Regulation
- EU Digital Identity Wallet
- The EU approach to age verification
- EU Age Verification Blueprint — technical portal
- European strategy for a better internet for kids (BIK+)
- Action plan against cyberbullying – protecting children online
More on Age assurance / verification
Keeping children safe online is high on Europe’s agenda - and age verification is a key part of the conversation. The EU is now developing a harmonised age-verification solution designed to be secure, privacy-preserving, easy to use, and simple for digital services across the European Union to integrate.
To support the rollout, the European Commission adopted a recommendation in April 2026 urging Member States to speed up implementation and make the EU age-verification app available by the end of 2026. A dedicated developer and integrator hub was also launched to help progress the technical work.
However, technical development is only part of the picture. In May 2026, the European Commission, with the support of EUN, the contractor of the BIK platform, convened a variety of stakeholders or a dedicated workshop on the proposed app. The session highlighted the app’s key features, explained its current state of play, and created space for questions, discussion, and practical feedback.
The discussion brought together civil society organisations, child- and digital-rights organisations, consumer groups representatives, academics, educators, and the European Safer Internet Centres (SICs). Contributions from a BIK Youth Ambassador also helped keep young people’s perspectives at the centre of the conversation.
Several key themes arose:
- How to ensure young people feel included in decisions that affect their online lives.
- How to give children and teenagers meaningful input into design.
- How to ensure parents and caregivers are fully engaged in the conversations, understand the benefits of online safety measures, and are aware of their role in applying them in family contexts.
- How can uptake be ensured across different communities and demographics.
- How to make sure the full protections of the Digital Services Act (DSA) are implemented and platforms are held accountable, alongside initiatives such as the age-verification app.
- How to address the possible circumvention of technical safeguards, beyond the app’s device-binding features.
- How different age thresholds could be applied within the app for different services and use cases.
- How to avoid excluding people who do not have smartphones or cannot verify their identity through standard methods (such as a passport or credit card).
- How to make the resulting apps work across borders, including for people visiting the EU without an EU digital identity.
- The youth representative, the teacher and the Safer Internet Centres highlighted the importance of continuing to be able to use social media to reach young people, as well as the need for sufficient funding for large-scale awareness-raising campaigns, in formal and informal education settings.
Next steps
Overall, the workshop highlighted broad support for a harmonised EU approach to age verification, while underlining the importance of inclusivity, continued improvements, and the meaningful involvement of young people in shaping and promoting online safety measures.
In the coming months, forerunner Member States such as Denmark, France, Greece, Italy and Spain will continue their work to publish interoperable and customised national age-verification solutions. Meanwhile, the Commission will, in line with its recommendation, continue to work with all Member States, including with national authorities and Digital Services Coordinators (DSCs), to quickly make robust and privacy-preserving age verification available to all EU citizens.
Want to explore the wider policy landscape? These resources give a useful starting point for understanding the EU’s approach to online safety:
- The Digital Services Act (DSA)
- The Digital Services Act (DSA) explained 2023 - Measures to protect minors online (family-friendly booklet)
- The Digital Services Act (DSA) Guidelines explained 2025 - What platforms should do to protect minors online (family-friendly booklet)
- AI Act
- eIDAS Regulation
- EU Digital Identity Wallet
- The EU approach to age verification
- EU Age Verification Blueprint — technical portal
- European strategy for a better internet for kids (BIK+)
- Action plan against cyberbullying – protecting children online
- age assurance age verification access age-restriction
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