👓Age Verification Online and the Priorities of the Danish Presidency of the EU

Bonjour ☕

This edition of La tech est politique explores two major subjects which maintain strong links between them:

• Online age verification: where do we stand, and why is this a controversial subject?

• The priorities of the future Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU are brought together in a programme entitled 'A strong Europe in a changing world'.

Reading time: 14 minutes (2,655 words)

Hot Potato, Beware: Age Verification Online

Between European approaches and national initiatives, online age verification crystallises tensions around protecting minors on the internet. Whilst Brussels prepares a temporary method pending the 2026 digital wallet, France is seeking to extend its regulatory offensive from pornographic sites to social networks, thereby challenging European rules in the process.

The issue. Protecting minors online has been a primary concern for European and national authorities for years. It is, amongst other things, one of the principal objectives of the DSA (Digital Services Act), one of the most celebrated regulations on digital matters. As a reminder, Commissioner Micallef is responsible for subjects relating to the impact of social networks on young people's mental health. However, the DSA does not explicitly provide for the creation of user age verification mechanisms to condition access to online services. The insistence and pressure to generalise age verification across all online services subject to the DSA comes from France.

The French exception. France distinguishes itself by promptly introducing age verification requirements for specific sites. The subject is far from recent: the beginnings of obligations to verify age on pornographic sites date back to 2020 with the law against domestic violence, whose article 23 organises the blocking procedure for sites that would refuse to implement said verification. After numerous legal battles, the SREN law of May 2024 organises the administrative blocking of pornographic sites in France. It provides for a specific procedure for sites established in other EU member states. Consequently, Arcom, France's audiovisual and digital communication regulatory authority, published its technical framework (October 2024). The latter addresses adult site publishers by attempting to devise an age verification solution to prevent minors from accessing content reserved for adults, whilst protecting privacy (double anonymity, thus going through a trusted third party). Since early May 2025, several sites have already been blocked for non-compliance with Arcom's framework.

The heart of the problem. The situation, which extends well beyond national borders, thus crystallises several tensions and confusions.