EU Tries to Curb Digital Giants With New Age-Verification App

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The EU’s efforts to rein in big tech took another step today as it announced a new age-verification app to keep children safe online.

“It is for parents to raise their children and not for platforms,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said as she unveiled the new tool today in Brussels, alongside EU Technology Commissioner Henna Virkkunen.

The EU is likening it to the covid pass that let citizens access services during the coronavirus pandemic. The snag, however, is that the tool is not mandatory – social media companies don’t have to use it but must adopt systems with comparable levels of accuracy to avoid enforcement under EU law.