European countries are tightening age verification rules to protect children online, using a growing mix of technologies ranging from ID scans to AI-powered facial checks. Euractiv takes a look at the main methods in use.
The European Commission has developed an age verification prototype framework to support EU countries in developing national age verification systems, outlining several options for confirming a user’s age online.
In the UK, the Online Safety Act requires platforms that publish or host pornographic content to implement robust age checks to prevent minors from accessing it. Ofcom, the UK’s internet regulator, recently outlined several recommended methods.
Government ID systems
The most widely used method in Europe is known as “document-based verification”, where a user scans a government-issued ID – such as a passport or national ID card – to confirm their age.
Another approach involves using digital identity services, which the EU envisions through national apps that rely on so-called eID schemes that already exist in member states. According to UK regulator Ofcom, UK users can also be age-checked via this scheme.
Several countries have already begun testing such systems. France, Spain, and Greece have integrated their national eIDs into pilot age verification apps, alongside national alternatives that allow electronic access to public services like Spain’s Cl@ve system.
In Greece, the “Kids Wallet” app requests the digital ID of a parent or guardian, verified via the country’s national authorisation service, TaxiNet. The parent then selects the child’s profile in the app, which verifies the child’s identity (and therefore age) using data from the national civil registry.
AI-based age checks
Facial age estimation – an AI-powered method that uses a selfie to estimate a user’s age – is not part of the EU’s official framework but is accepted by UK authorities.
UK-based age verification company Yoti told Euractiv that Meta’s Instagram has used this method for teen accounts since 2022. “The image is instantly deleted following the check,” a spokesperson said, noting that “over 850 million” have been completed “to date.”
Social media platform X recently listed selfie-based checks as one of its methods across the UK, Ireland and the EU, and offers the option to upload a government-issued ID.
Banking and telecom systems
Another way to verify age online is via banking services.
Ofcom recognises two banking-related methods: one via “opening banking”, where users sign into their online bank to confirm their age, and another involving a credit card provider’s online check to confirm legal age.
The European Commission has also proposed adapting existing “Know Your Customer” (KYC) procedures used by banks as a foundation to conduct online age checks. Mobile network operators already use this method for issuing SIM cards to EU users.
Verifying a user’s age through a mobile network operator is another method Ofcom has approved for use in the UK.
Ofcom also allows an email-based age estimation verification method whereby a user’s age is estimated by assessing whether the email is linked to banking or utility services that require their customers to be over 18.
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