Age limits designed to protect young people from risks have long been an established part of our society and are widely accepted, for example when it comes to access to alcohol or tobacco. There are also age restrictions in the digital world, such as access to pornographic content. Users wishing to access such content are required to prove their age. While adults are granted access, minors are to be denied access to such content. For some time now, there has been discussion about using corresponding online age-assurance mechanisms to protect young people, including those significantly below the age of majority, from certain risks. How this could be achieved, and whether age assurance can provide a solution for child and youth protection on the internet, were discussed on 9 September at the Internet Governance Forum Germany (IGF-D) in the panel discussion “Tell Me Your Age First… Online Age Assurance Between the Protection and Participation Needs of All.” The panel, moderated by Torsten Krause, included Elina Eickstädt (Chaos Computer Club), Daniel Fett (SPRIND), Anna Lührmann, MP (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen), Eva Maria Sommer (Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media, KJM), and Kolja Weber (FlokiNET).
In addition to the question of how effective age assurance can be in protecting young people online, the technical challenges associated with introducing such verification mechanisms were a central part of the debate. The European Commission and the German federal government are, among other things, relying on the EUDI Wallet as an instrument for age verification. The EUDI Wallet is scheduled to become available in all EU Member States from January 2027. In Germany, it will be called the D-YOU Wallet. It is a digital wallet in which personal documents and credentials, such as an identity card or driving licence, can be stored. Based on the official information currently available, the wallet can also be used to prove a person’s age. During the discussion, however, Daniel Fett pointed out that secure and privacy-preserving age assurance was not part of the original considerations behind the EUDI Wallet. Consequently, further efforts will be required to ensure that it meets these criteria. Elina Eickstädt and Kolja Weber questioned whether privacy-preserving age assurance will be possible online at all. They expressed concerns that the necessary level of data protection might not be achievable and that people who lack the means to prove their age could consequently be excluded from the internet and digital services. They also pointed to the possibility of circumventing such protective measures, which would render them ineffective. It is therefore important, they argued, to make digital services, including social media platforms, safe and user-friendly by design, so that young people are not encouraged to excessive use or exposed to other risks. Media literacy education for children and parents was also highlighted as a key element in ensuring safe participation in the digital environment.
At present, age assurance is often still seen as a “one-size-fits-all solution” when it comes to child and youth protection online. Anna Lührmann and Eva-Maria Sommer rejected this view. It is clear that child and youth protection cannot be addressed through technical solutions alone, but requires a comprehensive approach. Children and young people should be empowered to navigate the internet safely, including through media literacy education in schools. Parents, too, need to be aware of their responsibilities and engage with questions such as when their children should receive their first smartphone. At the same time, it was emphasised that age assurance can make it possible to activate specific protective measures for particular age groups or disable features identified as posing specific risks.
There was broad agreement among the panellists that companies need to be held more accountable. This requires a clear regulatory framework that encourages providers to implement systemic changes to social media platforms. The need for a broad range of measures to enable young people to participate safely in the digital environment is also reflected in the comprehensive recommendations put forward by the expert commission of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs. According to these recommendations, age assurance can likewise be one element of effective child and youth protection in the digital world.