Remarks by Executive Vice-President Virkkunen on the protection of minors online

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

The protection of minors is a top priority for the European Commission.

With one in three internet users being a child accessing platforms at increasingly younger ages, it's vital to ensure their safety.

I am delighted to stand alongside the Danish Minister for Digital Affairs, Caroline Stage, to present two significant milestones in our mission:

• The publication of the Digital Services Act Guidelines on the Protection of Minors, and
• Release of a blueprint for age verification online.

These are part of our broader ‘protection and empowerment of minors online' package, which also includes an upcoming action plan against cyberbullying and an inquiry into social media's impact on mental health.

Publication of the DSA Guidelines on the Protection of Minors

Protection of minors is in the core of the Digital Services Act. Under this regulation, all online platform providers must ensure a high level of safety, privacy and security for minors using their services.

The guidelines under article 28 of the DSA set a high standard for child online safety that is unmatched in the world.

They offer practical, non-exhaustive recommendations for platforms of all sizes to proactively address risks like exposure to harmful or age-inappropriate content.

These guidelines clearly define our expectations for DSA compliance and will serve as an enforcement benchmark.

Developed through extensive research, workshops, public consultation, and crucial feedback from children and young people themselves, these guidelines incorporate invaluable insights into the challenges minors face online.

Key Measures for a Safer Digital Experience

Our guidelines highlight several key areas:

• Firstly, Privacy and Safety by default. Platforms should set children's account to private by default, to minimise unwanted contact from strangers. They should also disable features that may contribute to excessive use.
• Secondly, more control for children of their recommendation feeds. We expect recommender systems to prioritise direct feedback from minors, instead of browsing behaviour.
• Platforms need to prevent children from entering cycles of harmful ‘rabbit holes'. If a child indicates they do not want to see a certain type of content, it should not be recommended again.
• Thirdly, Mental Health and Cyberbullying. Online platforms must remove from their interface certain persuasive design features or functions that can create addictive behaviours, mental health issues or facilitate cyberbullying.
• Putting safeguards around AI-chatbots or empowering minors to block or mute users are just two examples of many proactive steps in this direction.
• Lastly, Age-Appropriate design and Reporting. Platforms should provide child-friendly, easily accessible design on their platforms. Reporting tools that allow minors to flag content and should provide swift feedback and support.

To further protect minors, online platforms must adopt effective, secure, and privacy-preserving age assurance solutions fitting to the risk.

We mandate age verification for high-risk scenarios and age estimation where risks are lower and other mitigation measures are possible.

Blueprint for age verification online

We are also delighted to announce the release of a blueprint for age verification online, including a pilot phase for testing and customisation.

To help online platforms implement an EU-harmonised age verification method, the Commission is developing a common approach in collaboration with the Member States.

While privacy-preserving features cannot be modified, Member States can customise the blueprint to national needs.

The blueprint will enable users to easily prove they are over 18. This protects minors from being exposed to age-inappropriate and potentially harmful content.

Today's first release launches a pilot phase, during which the blueprint will be tested and further customised in collaboration with Member States, online platforms and end-users.

Denmark, France, Greece, Italy and Spain are the first to take it up in view of publishing a customised national age verification app.

In the coming months, we plan to scale the pilot. Member States will receive tailored implementation strategies that allow them to publish localised age verification apps by early 2026.

Ensuring safe and appropriate online world for our children is top priority for us. The DSA Protection of Minors guidelines and the release of the age verification blueprint are crucial milestones.

Through continuous collaboration and adaptation, we are a step closer to ensuring children can truly benefit from a safe online environment and make the most of what our digital world offers.

Now, I want to give the floor to Minister Stage.