EU Digital Services Act set to allow national social media age limits with flexible verification
The European Commission is progressing towards permitting EU Member States to set their own minimum age requirements for social media access, as outlined in draft guidelines for the Digital Services Act (DSA). These guidelines, which are currently being finalized, clarify how online platforms should implement DSA provisions concerning the protection of minors. The latest draft acknowledges the possibility of national laws introducing minimum age restrictions for certain online products and services, including social media platforms.
This development comes as several Member States, most notably France, advance with national legislation to restrict minors’ access to platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. The compatibility of these national measures with the DSA has become a contentious issue, with industry stakeholders warning that such national rules could lead to regulatory fragmentation and undermine the uniform application of the DSA, for which the Commission is the primary enforcer.
To address these concerns, the draft guidelines attempt to mitigate the risk of fragmentation and user disruption by granting platforms greater flexibility in their choice of age assurance methods. Specifically, platforms will be permitted to use age estimation technologies if they can demonstrate results comparable to more robust age verification methods. Age verification typically relies on official documentation, while age estimation uses probabilistic techniques to assess whether a user is likely to fall within a certain age range.
The draft guidelines, first reported by Contexte, are expected to be finalized and published before the summer break. Their adoption will have significant implications for both national regulators and online platforms operating across the EU, shaping the future landscape of minors’ digital rights and platform compliance under the DSA.