The sun is out in full force in Brussels and the European Commission used it as an opportunity to announce that their ‘age verification’ app is ‘technically ready’. A few hours later, news broke that it was already hacked. Moreover, one of the ways the app verifies a person’s age is through the eID system. The very same system that was hacked in France last week, exposing information of 19 million accounts, which was then advertised for sale on the black market.

Some countries have either implemented social media bans for children (Australia) or intend to do so (France, Spain, and more).

The bottom line is: restrictions and bans on any category of users will force everyone to verify their identity. These bans will not fix broken platforms.

The real problem is platform design and business models. What we need from EU lawmakers is to enforce existing rules, hold companies accountable and nudge platforms to build systems that protect everyone regardless of their age. Otherwise, all they are doing is limiting access to platforms where young people often find meaningful opportunities for community and connection. This move also excludes people who cannot easily verify their age due to lack of ID documents such as due to precarious housing conditions or migration status.

It’s not just digital justice advocates saying this, young people agree with us. Last week, we published an op-ed co-signed by 30 youth organisations and representatives across Europe who are demanding systemic change instead of exclusionary stop-gap measures.

The EU’s approach to protecting young people seems to be just another example of the misalignment between lawmakers and the public. In fact, there are many such cases: consider the fact that EU taxpayers’ money is finding its way to fund spyware companies that produce technology to snoop on Europeans, or that Greece spent four million EUR on an AI Smart Policing system that was later (thankfully) declared unlawful because of the efforts of EDRi member Homo Digitalis.

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• [🏃🏿do] Sign the petition for right to life without digital coercion in Germany by Digitalcourage. The adoption of digital technologies into citizens’ interactions with governments and businesses improves convenience and accessibility in many cases but often this also restricts choices. EDRi member Digitalcourage’s petition urges German lawmakers to enshrine a new ‘right to a life without digital coercion’ in the German constitution. This right is to ensure that people can use basic government and commercial services without being forced to use a digital solution. The signatures will be presented at the German parliament in the week of 23 May (Germany’s Constitution Day). Sign the petition and help them spread the word!