EU Commission to mandate age‑verification for children on social media

The European Commission is moving from debating whether children should be allowed on social platforms to requiring that the platforms verify users’ ages. Ursula von der Leyen told a Copenhagen conference on AI‑era child protection that the question is now "whether social media should have access to children". The Commission may present a legislative proposal in the summer, building on an Australian model that bans accounts for under‑16s from December 2025.

Several EU member states are already tightening rules: France backs a 15‑year minimum, Denmark seeks parental consent for under‑15s, and the UK has announced similar measures. In November 2025 the European Parliament passed a non‑binding resolution urging access to be set at 16, with a possible drop to 13 with parental approval. To enforce any age limits, the Commission is developing its own verification app linked to the European Digital Identity, similar to tools already adopted by platforms such as Discord.