Young people are not just passive users of the internet; they actively contribute to the digital world by making friends, learning, creating content and even starting businesses online, and they have a right to participate in shaping policies.

Young people should have access to age-appropriate experiences online. However, many technologies and policies ignore their rights and needs. As smartphones and social media are a part of our daily lives, growing up as well as parenting in the digital age presents new challenges. ThinkYoung’s focus group discussions with teenagers used in the Empowering and Protecting European Youth Online research show that parents often find it difficult to keep up with new technology and how children and teenagers use the internet. With children and teenagers accessing a wide variety of online content, it is more important than ever to find the right solutions to ensure healthy digital development. Age-appropriate content that is suitable for different age groups because of its educational and entertainment value, as well as its absence of unsuitable or harmful content is necessary.

This is why we need a conversation about EU-wide regulations that focus on age verification at the OS/App store level: to ensure that children have age-appropriate online experiences.

Age assurance involves different methods to determine a person's age, in order to help protect children and teenagers from accessing harmful content. The methods can be either age estimation, self-declaration, or age verification which guarantee to high certainty if someone is old enough to access certain content. However, current approaches often fall short, risking privacy and freedom of expression. The level of protection varies from app to app, creating additional layers of complexity for parents, guardians and educators, and leaving young people potentially exposed to harmful content.

Our research used in the empowering youth online publication, as well as other academics active on the issue like Sonia Livingstone and Simone van der Hof (1), highlights the importance of including teenagers and parents in age assurance discussions. This is because young people’s online experiences are different from adults’. A child-rights approach, informed by young people and their guardians, is essential.

We support organisations like the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC), which advocate for age verification at the device level in the EU. This approach promises accuracy, reliability, and improved privacy and security, ensuring young people have access to uniform safety standards and harmonised levels of protection across all EU Member States.

The real value lies in the opportunities it unlocks for youth once their age is recognised. Guardians will have a reliable and simple way to ensure that their children have access to age appropriate content and take full advantage of the benefits of the digital world. Parents agree more must be done, with a member of ThinkYoung’s Parents Network as well the European Parents’ Association believing that "robust age verification can be a valid tool if it goes hand in hand with educational measures" and that "companies should adopt a Safety by Design approach for children."

We need urgent action to create a safer online environment for children, using a multi- stakeholder approach that involves teenagers, parents, educators, and experts through initiatives like "Our Feed, Our Future." The initiative, in partnership with industry leaders, helps bring the relevant voices together. This dialogue on online age is crucial and it’s time that the EU prioritises it.

Looking ahead, while age verification at the OS/App Store level is crucial, this must be supported by thorough participatory design, child consultation and standardised rules: ensuring that policies are consistently applied across all platforms and devices in the EU. Age assurance should be part of a broader toolkit, as emphasised by the 5Rights Foundation.

About ThinkYoung

Founded in 2009 in Brussels, ThinkYoung is an independent, non-profit think tank dedicated to elevating youth voices. With a presence in Europe, Africa and Asia, ThinkYoung works with partners across cultural, corporate, and government sectors to conduct research, run campaigns and design impact programmes with and for young people.

In today's digital world, young people's voices are more important than ever. Since 2009, ThinkYoung, a think tank focused on youth, has been working to improve the lives of young people through research and education programmes. Our goal is to ensure that young people are empowered to use the digital world safely and freely.

References

(1) Livingstone, S. Nair, A, Stoilova, M. van der Hof, S and Caglar, C. (2024). Children’s Rights and Online Age Assurance Systems. The Way Forward. The International Journal of children’s Rights 32 (2024) 721-747. Koninklijke Brill BV.

Hargrave, M.A and Livingstone, S. (2024). Children’s rights in the digital age. InterMEDIA. Online safety, March 2024, Vol 52 Issue 1. https://iicintermedia.org/vol- 52-issue-1/childrens-rights-in-the-digital-age/

Livingstone, S. (2023). How can we make the internet safe for children in practice? https://www.childinthecity.org/2023/08/11/how-can-we-make-the-internet-safe-for- children-in-practice/

O’Neill, B. Dreyer, S and Dinh, T. (2023). The Third Better Internet for kids Policy Map: Implementing the European Strategy for a Better Internet for Children in European Member States (Brussels: European Schoolnet, 2023).

Pothong, K. (2021). Realising a better digital environment for children: Child Rights Impact Assessment (CRIA) as a tool. Digital Futures Commission. https://digitalfuturescommission.org.uk/blog/realising-a-better-digital-environment-for- children-child-rights-impact-assessment-cria-as-a-tool/

5Rights. (2021). But how do they know it is a child? Age Assurance in the Digital World. 5 Rights Foundation, October 2021.

European Data Protection Board. (2024). Statement 1/2025 on Age Assurance. Adopted on 11 February 2025.