The European Commission has opened the door to possible national bans on social media use by minors. This is evident from the latest draft guidelines on the implementation of the Digital Services Act (DSA), seen by Politico. These guidelines focus on the protection of minors online and define how platforms should carry out age verification for their users.
According to the document, EU member states are allowed to set their own minimum age requirements for access to certain products and services, including social networks such as TikTok and Instagram. The draft explicitly refers to the possibility of national laws that establish “a minimum age to access certain products or services,” effectively acknowledging that age-based restrictions are permissible.
🔹 “By referring to the option of setting a minimum age at the national level, the European Commission effectively acknowledges that such restrictions are possible,” notes Politico.
This provision comes at a time when France and other EU countries are moving ahead with national initiatives to restrict children’s access to social media. However, there is ongoing debate over whether such national measures comply with EU-wide legislation.
Balancing Unified Rules and National Measures
Industry representatives have criticized national initiatives, arguing that they increase fragmentation and undermine the unified rules established under the DSA — the EU’s flagship legislation for regulating digital platforms. The DSA, which came into force in 2024, is designed to promote transparency, combat illegal content, and protect vulnerable users — especially minors.
Nevertheless, in an attempt to mitigate the risk of fragmentation, the Commission’s draft guidelines allow platforms greater flexibility in choosing methods to determine users’ age. In addition to strict age verification processes, such as uploading government-issued IDs or bank card details, platforms may be allowed to use age estimation technologies, provided they deliver comparable results.
🔹 “Platforms should be allowed to use age estimation if they can demonstrate that it provides comparable accuracy to age verification,” the draft says.
Age Verification vs. Age Estimation
The guidelines draw a clear distinction between age verification and age estimation. Verification refers to high-certainty methods such as official document checks, while estimation relies on less precise techniques that assess whether a user is “likely to be of a certain age, falls within a certain age range, or is over or under a certain age.”
This approach opens the door for the use of AI technologies and data analysis tools, such as facial recognition or behavioral analysis, to approximate a user’s age.
What’s Next?
According to Politico, the draft guidelines were circulated among stakeholders last week. The final version is expected before the summer break.
Earlier, the French outlet Contexte reported on the existence of the draft and emphasized that the Commission’s recommendations are more than just a technical document — they represent a significant effort to coordinate child protection across the digital space without compromising the core of the EU’s unified digital regulation.
As Politico notes, the Commission’s draft guidelines may serve as a compromise between protecting children and maintaining a unified digital market across the EU. The final version, expected later this summer, will reveal just how far member states can go in enforcing national age restrictions without breaching DSA rules.
This article was prepared based on materials published by Politico. The author does not claim authorship of the original text but presents their interpretation of the content for informational purposes.
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