On 14 July 2025, the European Commission published its final guidelines on the protection of minors under the Digital Services Act (DSA). This marks a key milestone in the EU’s efforts to ensure a safer digital space for children and young people.
The new guidelines offer clarity for online platforms, particularly Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs), on their responsibilities to identify and mitigate risks to minors. These include exposure to harmful content, grooming, addictive behaviours, cyberbullying, and exploitative commercial practices. They reflect a risk-based approach and are grounded in children’s rights, with strong emphasis on safety and privacy-by-design.
Effective age assurance: No longer optional
A major focus of the guidelines is the recommendation to use effective age assurance methods that are accurate, reliable, robust, non-intrusive, and non-discriminatory.
In particular, age verification is recommended to restrict access to adult content (such as pornography or gambling), or where national rules require a minimum age to access specific services, like certain categories of social media. The guidelines cite the forthcoming EU Digital Identity Wallets as the long-term standard, while referencing the newly published “blueprint” and white-label age verification app as interim models to guide platforms toward compliant solutions.
A shift in the role of age estimation
Significantly, the final guidelines represent a shift from the draft version, which had excluded age estimation as a viable method. Now, age estimation is acknowledged as having a supporting role:
“Age estimation methods can complement age verification technologies and can be used in addition to the former, or as temporary alternative in particular in cases where verification measures that respect the criteria of effectiveness of age assurance solutions outlined in Section 6.1.4, with particular emphasis on protecting users’ right to privacy and data protection as well as accuracy, are not yet readily available.”
This transitional use is time-limited and should not extend beyond the first review of the guidelines. The Commission also indicates it may publish a technical analysis of age estimation methods in the future, in line with the effectiveness standards laid out in the guidance.
The interim age verification app
To assist platforms in meeting their obligations, the Commission also released a white-label age verification app. The app is intended as a temporary solution before the EU Digital Identity Wallet becomes fully available. It offers a device-based, privacy-preserving model for age checks and acts as a reference implementation during this interim phase.
What this means for providers and platforms
For age assurance providers and platforms, this final guidance brings clarity:
- It highlights the central role of age assurance in protecting minors online.
- It acknowledges a pragmatic use of age estimation when aligned with the principles of effectiveness.
- It reinforces the need for privacy-first, standards-based approaches, including anonymous and device-based solutions.
As enforcement under Article 28(1) of the DSA begins to take shape, these guidelines will serve as a key reference point for compliance – not just for platforms, but also for regulators across Member States.
How Verifymy can help
At Verifymy, we support platforms in implementing both robust age verification and privacy-preserving estimation tools, in line with the DSA’s new standards. If your service involves adult content, high-risk interactions, or simply needs to prove compliance, we can help.
Get in touch to learn more about how we’re supporting DSA-ready age assurance.
