European Union
The European Union addresses age gating for minors mainly through Article 28 of the Digital Services Act (DSA), which requires online platforms accessible to minors to put in place appropriate and proportionate protection measures and bans targeted advertising based on profiling of minors, applicable since 17 February 2024 (and from 25 August 2023 for designated very large platforms and search engines). The European Commission's July 2025 guidelines under Article 28(4) DSA set non-binding but Commission enforced benchmarks, recommending age verification or estimation for high risk services such as pornography and gambling and requiring default private settings for minors' accounts. The Audiovisual Media Services Directive requires video sharing platforms and audiovisual media providers to take appropriate measures, including age verification tools, to protect minors from harmful content, and is the legal basis several national regulators, including France's Arcom, rely on to require pornography age checks; member states had to transpose these provisions by 19 September 2020 and specific enforcement actions live in national jurisdiction files, not here. Looking ahead, the Commission's April 2026 recommendation on a common EU age verification framework, building on the European Digital Identity Wallet regulation, asks member states to deploy the EU age verification solution, standalone or integrated into national wallets, by 31 December 2026.
Supranational jurisdiction. Reviewed 2026-07-15.
Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD), Articles 6a and 28b
Requires member states to ensure audiovisual media services and video sharing platforms take appropriate measures, such as age verification tools, parental controls, and restricted broadcast times, so that content that may impair minors' physical, mental, or moral development is not normally seen or heard by them, with the strictest measures required for the most harmful content such as gratuitous violence and pornography. Also bars processing minors' personal data for profiling or behaviourally targeted advertising. Member states had to transpose the 2018 amendments by 19 September 2020; national regulators, including France's Arcom, cite this directive as the legal basis for requiring pornography age verification, with specific national enforcement actions recorded in each jurisdiction's own file rather than here.
- Citation
- Directive 2010/13/EU, as amended by Directive (EU) 2018/1808, Articles 6a and 28b
- Status
- In force
- Effective date
- 2020-09-19
- Applies to
- Private sector
- Age threshold
- 18
- Covered services
- Audiovisual media service providers and video sharing platform providers under a member state's jurisdiction.
- Enforcement body
- National audiovisual and media regulators designated by each member state
- Litigation
- Joined Cases C-188/24 WebGroup Czech Republic and NKL Associates and C-190/24 Coyote System, Court of Justice of the European Union, Judgment of 16 June 2026 on a preliminary reference from the French Conseil d'État: the e-Commerce Directive's country of origin principle does not prevent a member state from imposing targeted, proportionate age verification requirements on pornographic websites established in another member state, confirming that effective age verification to protect minors is a legitimate, proportionate objective.
- Source
- Directive 2010/13/EU, as amended by Directive (EU) 2018/1808, Articles 6a and 28b
Commission Recommendation (EU) 2026/1035 on a common framework for EU wide age verification technologies
Non-binding recommendation asking member states to submit an implementation plan by 30 June 2026 and to make available, by 31 December 2026, a privacy preserving EU age verification solution built on the Commission's open source age verification blueprint, either as a standalone app or integrated into a national European Digital Identity Wallet, letting a user prove they exceed an age threshold such as 18 without revealing other personal data. Encourages member states to cooperate through the European Board for Digital Services and with data protection authorities to define a forthcoming EU Age Verification Scheme with lists of trusted proof of age providers, and to engage with the Commission before enacting national age verification laws so the internal market does not fragment.
- Citation
- Commission Recommendation (EU) 2026/1035 of 29 April 2026, OJ L, 2026/1035, 8.5.2026
- Status
- In force
- Effective date
- 2026-04-29
- Applies to
- Government
- Age threshold
- 18
- Verification methods
- digital id, third party service
- Covered services
- Online services in EU member states that need to confirm a user is above an age threshold, with priority use cases including access to pornography, gambling, and other age restricted content.
- Enforcement body
- European Commission (recommendation; not directly enforceable against private parties)
- Source
- Commission Recommendation (EU) 2026/1035 of 29 April 2026, OJ L, 2026/1035, 8.5.2026
European Digital Identity Regulation (eIDAS2)
Establishes the legal framework for European Digital Identity Wallets, requiring each member state to provide at least one wallet to its citizens, residents, and businesses, and creating qualified and non qualified electronic attestations of attributes that can include a person's age, so a user can prove they exceed an age threshold without revealing their date of birth or full identity. Adopted 11 April 2024, published in the Official Journal 30 April 2024, and entered into force 20 May 2024; member states must make a wallet available by 6 December 2026. This device level wallet credential is the framework the Commission's age verification solution is designed to integrate with.
- Citation
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1183, amending Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 (eIDAS)
- Status
- In force
- Effective date
- 2024-05-20
- Applies to
- Both
- Verification methods
- digital id
- Covered services
- European Digital Identity Wallets issued by or on behalf of member states, and relying parties, public and private, that accept wallet based attribute attestations including age.
- Enforcement body
- National supervisory bodies designated under the regulation, coordinated with the European Commission
- Source
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1183, amending Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 (eIDAS)
Commission Guidelines on the protection of minors under Article 28(4) DSA
Non-binding guidelines the European Commission adopted and published on 14 July 2025, later carried in the Official Journal, setting benchmark measures for compliance with Article 28(1) DSA: recommending age verification for high risk services such as pornography and gambling, age estimation by independently audited third parties for medium risk services, and rejecting self declaration as insufficient. The guidelines also call for minors' accounts to default to private settings, with geolocation, autoplay, and push notifications disabled and recommender systems adjusted to limit exposure to harmful content. The Commission uses the guidelines, which apply to platforms accessible to minors other than micro and small enterprises, to assess Article 28 compliance and inform enforcement, though following them does not itself guarantee compliance.
- Citation
- Commission Guidelines pursuant to Article 28(4) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, C(2025) 6826, OJ C, C/2025/5519, 10.10.2025
- Status
- In force
- Effective date
- 2025-07-14
- Applies to
- Private sector
- Age threshold
- 18
- Verification methods
- digital id, third party service, facial estimation
- Covered services
- Online platforms accessible to minors in the EU, excluding micro and small enterprises.
- Enforcement body
- European Commission
- Source
- Commission Guidelines pursuant to Article 28(4) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, C(2025) 6826, OJ C, C/2025/5519, 10.10.2025
Digital Services Act (DSA), Article 28 (Online protection of minors)
Requires providers of online platforms accessible to minors to put in place appropriate and proportionate measures to ensure a high level of privacy, safety, and security for minors on their service, and bans presenting advertisements based on profiling using a minor's personal data when the provider is aware with reasonable certainty the recipient is a minor. Providers are not required to process additional personal data solely to determine a user's age. The DSA applied to designated very large online platforms and search engines from 25 August 2023, and to all other in scope providers from 17 February 2024.
- Citation
- Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, Article 28
- Status
- In force
- Effective date
- 2024-02-17
- Applies to
- Private sector
- Age threshold
- 18
- Covered services
- Online platforms accessible to minors, including social media, marketplaces, and app stores operating in the EU.
- Enforcement body
- European Commission (for very large online platforms and search engines) and national Digital Services Coordinators
- Source
- Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, Article 28
Reviewed 2026-07-15. Confidence: high. Fast-moving area, verify before relying. Not legal advice.