Meta, Google take a stand on online age verification
Meta has said it supports proposals for a common age of digital majority across EU member states. Google also took a position last week.
The taboo around the topic of ‘minimum age for social media’ has been lifted, and EU member states are starting to take positions. There is no legislation yet, but the consensus is moving towards around 15 years old.
There would be an EU-wide age for digital adulthood, under which minors would at least need parental consent to log in to social media. Alternatively, it could be outright forbidden for those under that age to be exposed to extraterritorial, potentially privacy-infringing algorithms.
How enforcement and oversight should look is still unclear. This could take place at the app level, the operating system and device level, or, for example, the app store. How the actual identification and verification of a person will be carried out is also still open.
On that last point, Google has entered into a partnership with the German Sparkasse to verify the age of internet users via its backend.
“Apps and sites, in turn, get a unique and reliable way to only allow visitors who match their age. And, more importantly, to protect children from content that is not intended for them,” according to Google. Apparently, Google is opting for oversight at the operating system level.
A few days after Google, Meta announced its position.
The parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp supports age verification mechanisms at the app store or operating system level. Neither of these falls within Meta’s direct sphere of influence as it does not have its own OS or app store.
Moreover, Meta wants the regulation to apply not only to social media, but to all online experiences for teenagers. A logical position, since the company owns the world’s largest social platforms. Naturally, CEO Mark Zuckerberg does not want an exception to be made.
All sites and apps should take into account the age of their audience, came an umbrella statement from Meta. “There must be a robust, secure system that guarantees age-appropriate safety.”
Meta works with a lower limit of 16 years but has left the final say with parents, no law-makers.
The European Commission itself is developing, under a white-label, an app for age verificationto become part of a planned ‘digital wallet’ at the end of 2026. This ‘Internet passport’ could, for example, be used to keep minors from all over Europe, regardless of platform, away from erotic, alcohol, and gambling websites.
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