European-wide implementation of age verification on social networks proposed by France

The French government is giving itself a three-month deadline to gather its European allies to enforce a binding agreement that mandates social media platforms to verify the age of adolescent users, according to French Junior Minister for Digital, Clara Chappaz.

Clara Chappaz has been working tirelessly to rally her European counterparts around a simple mandate: age verification is nonnegotiable. She has gathered support from Spain, Greece, and Ireland, aiming to sway the European Commission as well. However, if they fail to reach an agreement by the start of the new school year, France will take matters into its own hands.

"Social media before 15, it's a dirty trick," the Junior Minister for Digital asserted during an interview with La Tribune Dimanche. Emmanuel Macron had called for a ban on smartphones for children under 11 and social media for those under 15, following two months of expert reports on the effects of screen exposure on young people.

Clara Chappaz explained, "At the European level, we have a reference framework - the Digital Services Act. But we need to expand its reach to compel social media platforms not to accept account creation without age verification."

In terms of potential consequences, she said, "If they don't establish robust age verification methods, they'll face sanctions." To illustrate this, she referred to the action taken against pornographic websites: since March, the French digital regulator, Arcom, has been blocking sites that disregard French legislation on age restrictions.

Spain has already taken steps in this direction, introducing a law prohibiting under-16s from accessing social media. Meanwhile, the European Commission is considering an "EU mini wallet" app to verify ages for accessing certain platforms. However, the details of implementation and enforcement are still being worked out.

Despite the lack of explicit legal obligation in the European Union to verify the age of users on social media platforms, recent legal acts and ongoing discussions suggest an emerging trend towards demanding age verification. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requires parental consent for processing children's data, which implies a need for age assessment. Meanwhile, the Digital Services Act (DSA) encourages platforms to ensure minors' safety, though it does not mandate data collection.

If platforms fail to comply with these emerging requirements, they could face legal penalties under the GDPR and regulatory actions under the DSA, possibly including fines or other measures to guarantee compliance with child safety provisions.

Clara Chappaz, the French Junior Minister for Digital, has ruled out negotiation on age verification for adolescent users on social media platforms.
To bolster her stance, Chappaz has gained support from Spain, Greece, and Ireland, aiming to influence the European Commission as well.
The deadline for gathering allies and enforcing binding agreements is three months, coinciding with the start of the new school year.
If an agreement cannot be reached at the European level, France may implement its own sanctions against platforms that do not verify the age of adolescent users.
The potential penalties for non-compliance could include fines under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and regulatory actions under the Digital Services Act (DSA), with the aim of guaranteeing child safety on these platforms.