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France, Greece, Spain, and Ireland Push for EU-Age Verification

France, Greece, Spain, and Ireland Push for EU-Age Verification

Author: admin | 13 May 2025

France, alongside Greece, Spain, and Ireland, is set to propose EU-wide legislation to mandate age verification for social media account creation. French Deputy Minister for Digital Policy Clara Chappaz confirmed the initiative during an interview with Libération, emphasizing the need to protect minors from premature digital exposure.

In the report of Euronews, Chappaz highlighted French President Emmanuel Macron’s long-standing support for child safety online. It includes earlier proposals to ban mobile phone use before age 11 and restrict social media access before age 15. These recommendations stem from growing research linking excessive screen time to adverse effects on children’s mental health and emotional development.

Although the Digital Services Act (DSA) sets baseline responsibilities for online platforms. Chappaz argues that it lacks enforceable safeguards for underage users. “We must go beyond the DSA,” she said, calling for legislation that compels platforms to implement robust age verification mechanisms.

France is trying to build a coalition with Greece, Spain, and Ireland to come up with a united front towards the European Commission in the next three months.

Greece has already made significant strides in this direction with Kids Wallet,  a government-issued mobile app for parents for age verification and tracking of online activity of children, which was recently launched in the country. The app is compatible with iOS and Android.

Advanced age verification and facial recognition solutions offered by FACIA are used by platforms and regulators. These technologies are implementing privacy-first and real-time identity checks. With AI-powered age verification, FACIA ensures compliance while preventing underage access to digital platforms.