Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD), Articles 6a and 28b
In force
Directive 2010/13/EU, as amended by Directive (EU) 2018/1808, Articles 6a and 28b
Effective 2020-09-19 · Applies to private
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.
| Age threshold | 18 |
| 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
In force
Commission Recommendation (EU) 2026/1035 of 29 April 2026, OJ L, 2026/1035, 8.5.2026
Effective 2026-04-29 · Applies to government
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.
| Age threshold | 18 |
| Verification methods | digital id, third party service |
| 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)
In force
Regulation (EU) 2024/1183, amending Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 (eIDAS)
Effective 2024-05-20 · Applies to both
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.
| Verification methods | digital id |
| 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
In force
Commission Guidelines pursuant to Article 28(4) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, C(2025) 6826, OJ C, C/2025/5519, 10.10.2025
Effective 2025-07-14 · Applies to private
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.
| Age threshold | 18 |
| Verification methods | digital id, third party service, facial estimation |
| 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)
In force
Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, Article 28
Effective 2024-02-17 · Applies to private
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.
| Age threshold | 18 |
| Enforcement body | European Commission (for very large online platforms and search engines) and national Digital Services Coordinators |
Source: Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, Article 28