The European Commission confirmed today that it has received a letter from the Greek Prime Minister to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, calling for action at EU level to protect children online.
Commission spokesman Tomas Rainier stressed that the EU supports member states when they set age limits for social networks, such as Greece, which has already implemented age verification procedures and is considered a pioneer in this area. The Commission underlines the need for action at EU level to ensure uniform application of the rules. It notes, however, that no additional obligations can be imposed on platforms beyond those provided for in the Digital Services Regulation (DSA) in order to maintain the coherence of the single digital market.
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As the spokesperson pointed out, “when there is a draft law, we expect it to be notified to us as it could affect the functioning of the single market. So far, however, no such notification has been made by any member state.
In this context, as explained by Tomas Renier, a special expert panel is working to develop a uniform framework at EU level. This panel met recently for the first time and will meet again in April and its recommendations are expected in the summer, which will guide the Commission on any further measures.
The Commission will assess the compliance of major platforms through an age verification application, which acts as a benchmark. Platforms will have to ensure that their measures are at least as effective, otherwise penalties may be imposed.
In doing so, the EU seeks to combine two key objectives: protecting children and avoiding fragmentation of the Digital Single Market, while ensuring that regulations are workable and effective for platforms and aligned with Member States’ priorities.
At the same time, the debate on the digital “age bar” is now extending beyond Europe, with France seeking to take a leading role in promoting an international standard to ban the use of social media below a certain age limit. The issue is also expected to be raised at the G7 summit in mid-June, while similar initiatives are already being considered by Spain, Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands, the UK and Australia.
