Snapchat, YouTube, Google, and Apple under EU’s surveillance on child protection

Brussels – The European Commission is moving forward with the implementation of the European Digital Services Regulation (DSA). Executive Vice-President for Technological Sovereignty Henna Virkkunen announced today, October 10, the start of a series of procedures to implement the new digital rules. The EU executive body has asked Snapchat, YouTube, Apple, and Google to provide information on their age verification systems to understand whether these companies operate in compliance with the DSA in the area of child protection.

Risks for minors

The Commission has asked Snapchat to provide information on how it prevents children under the age of 13 from accessing its services, as prohibited by the platform’s own terms of service. The EU body is seeking details on the content recommender system from YouTube. As for Apple with its App Store and Google Play, the EU focus is on reducing the risk for minors to purchase illegal or harmful applications.

The decision to target, for the time being, only these platforms was clarified by European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier: “Half of eleven-year-olds in France use YouTube every day, and the platform dictates the rules in its Terms & Conditions. The same happens with Snapchat and apps sold on the App Store and Google Play. So we argue that they are the ones we need to refer to make the web safer.”

The risks for minors are different, and Regnier lists them: ‘When children are on Snapchat, they can buy e-cigarettes and drugs. On YouTube, they can see harmful content. When they go to the App Store, they can download apps for gambling or pornography. It is a serious problem that we have to address.”

Precisely with this in mind, in 2020, the Commission presented the European Regulation (DSA), aiming to make the digital environment safer. The law envisages, for the under-18-year-olds, the configuration of private accounts by default, differentiated content recommendations, prohibition of downloads or screenshots of content on minors, age verification, and deactivation of features that encourage overuse. To make the web safe, however, one needs to understand who is using the device. For this, age verification systems are a cornerstone.

Did you know that young people up to 18 years of age make up 18% of the EU population?

Discover more facts and figures in our ‘Children in the EU’ infographic, covering education, health, social inclusion and more.

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Age verification

Henna Virkkunen has recently unveiled the second version of the European tool for age-verification, a development necessary for creating a “secure and transparent” digital infrastructure, according to the executive vice-president. The initiative is entrusted to the Swedish-German T-Scy consortium and enables the use of passports or identity cards to generate reliable proof of age. The idea is to utilize the same method as digital identity wallets, which now feature real digital documents, such as identity cards and driver’s licenses. Italy is also participating in the pilot test with its IO application. 

According to the Commission, the procedure to be developed will safeguard privacy. Adult users will be able to verify their identity when accessing adult content without providing any information beyond their age. The process would prevent any form of tracking, as the age, once verified, would not be requested again and would allow free browsing on similar sites.