Source: in-cyprus.philenews.com
The European Commission has launched an age verification application to restrict minors’ access to social media, with Cyprus among the first countries piloting it and President Nikos Christodoulides announcing that 15 will be the minimum age for social media accounts on the island.
The app was presented by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. It is already being tested in France, Greece, Spain, Italy, Denmark and Cyprus, and the Commission says it is technically ready and will soon be available to the public. The model follows applications developed after the COVID-19 pandemic, letting users prove their age when accessing online platforms in the same way shops ask for identification when selling alcohol.
Von der Leyen noted why she considers the issue urgent. One in six children is bullied online, she said, and one in eight bullies another child. Social media platforms, she argued, are designed to be addictive, with endless scrolling and short videos keeping children hooked and away from playgrounds and peers. The more time children spend online, she warned, the more likely they are to encounter harmful and illegal content. “It is the job of parents to raise their children and not the platforms,” she said.
The app has four features the Commission says set it apart. Users download it and verify their identity with a passport or ID, then prove their age to online services without sharing any other personal data. It is fully anonymous and users cannot be tracked. It runs on any device and is entirely open-source. France, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Spain, Cyprus and Ireland plan to integrate it into their national digital wallets.
The announcement comes one day before a video summit convened by French President Emmanuel Macron, where leaders from several EU member states will discuss a pan-European plan to ban minors from social media altogether.
In Cyprus, Christodoulides said the age verification proposal will be built into the national Digital Citizen application within the year. “The protection of our children in the digital environment is the highest priority for our governance,” he said. A bill will follow, setting out the scope of the measure, the age verification obligation, sanctions for non-compliance and transitional provisions.
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