Inline Insights

On 15 April 2026, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Executive Vice-President and Commissioner for Tech Sovereignty, Security, and Democracy Henna Virkkunen announced that an EU age verification app was “technically ready” and would be rolled out “soon”. While the announcement may have sounded vague at the time, its implications remain far-reaching: the app could become the tool allowing governments and platforms to enforce age limits online in a consistent way across the European Union. Von der Leyen framed the tool as a major step in the “enforcement of our rules”, particularly with regards to obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA), which entered into force in November 2022. In a further development, last week, at her annual State of the European Union speech, on 16 September 2026, President von der Leyen once again stressed the importance of age limits in protecting minors online. The day following the speech, the European Commission unveiled new legislation — the EU Kids Act — with key discussions now taking place on the adoption and implementation of these various political as well as technical proposals.