Connect Europe’s Reflections on Age Verification Measures
Effective age verification is key to protecting children online, but it is not a standalone solution. Connect Europe calls for targeted, risk-based and privacy-preserving measures within a harmonised EU framework.
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As the EU advances discussions on age verification and online child safety, Connect Europe outlines its recommendations for an effective, harmonised and future-proof regulatory framework.
Our position paper welcomes the objectives of the proposed EU Kids Act and calls for a targeted, risk-based approach that addresses online harms at their source. Age verification and age assurance tools can play an important role, but they are not standalone solutions. Effective child protection also requires safety-by-design measures, digital literacy, parental empowerment and effective enforcement of existing legislation.
Responsibility should lie primarily with the digital services and platforms creating or controlling the relevant risks. Measures should be proportionate to those risks and reflect the different roles of actors across the digital ecosystem.
Connect Europe also advocates for harmonised and interoperable European solutions that preserve users’ privacy, minimise personal data collection and avoid overlapping or divergent national requirements.
The objective is to create a safer online environment for children while preserving the opportunities and benefits of connectivity, through clear responsibilities, proportionate safeguards and consistent rules across the EU Single Market.
