Denmark, Greece, Spain, France, and Italy are the first to test the technical solution unveiled by the European Commission on July 14, 2025.
The announcement came less than two weeks before the UK enforced mandatory age verification checks on July 25. These have so far sparked concerns about the privacy and security of British users, fueling a spike in usage amongst the best VPN apps.
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The introduction of this technical solution is a key step in implementing children’s online safety rules under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
Lawmakers ensure that this solution seeks to set “a new benchmark for privacy protection” in age verification.
That’s because online services will only receive proof that the user is 18+, without any personal details attached.
Further work on the integration of zero-knowledge proofs is also ongoing, with the full implementation of mandatory checks in the EU expected to be enforced in 2026.
[…]
Starting from Friday, July 25, millions of Britons will need to be ready to prove their age before accessing certain websites or content.
Under the Online Safety Act, sites displaying adult-only content must prevent minors from accessing their services via robust age checks.
Social media, dating apps, and gaming platforms are also expected to verify their users’ age before showing them so-called harmful content.
[…]
The vagueness of what constitutes harmful content, as well as the privacy and security risks linked with some of these age verification methods, have attracted criticism among experts, politicians, and privacy-conscious citizens who fear a negative impact on people’s digital rights.
While the EU approach seems better on paper, it remains to be seen how the age verification scheme will ultimately be enforced.
[…]
Source: After the UK, online age verification is landing in the EU | TechRadar
And so comes the EU spying on our browsing habits, telling us what is and isn’t good for us to see. I can make my own mind up, thank you. How annoying that I will be rate limited to the VPN I get.
Robin Edgar
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