The bill in Italy, the announcement of the European app, the work of AgCom. The signs are all there. In the coming months we will see what in Italy it’s already happening in other countries: User age verification will be a parameter clearly regulatedno longer a simple one self-certification. We will see this step for social networks. The threshold to enter should rise to 15 yearsat least from what we have seen on the drafts of a bill on the government table. And we’ll see it for i too pornographic sites. Here on a formal level there are no changes: the threshold remains 18 yearsonly that more effective tools will be used to monitor it.
Yesterday Ursula von der Leyen announced that the app is technically ready. Nothing we haven’t already seen elsewhere. In the December 2025 Australia published a law in December to ban the use of social networks under 16s. In France a law is being discussed for block access before the age of 15even if the final steps in Parliament are still missing. In Brazil, anyone under 16 must connect their social account to that of a tutor that can access and monitor certain activities.
For pornography the literature is longer, since it starts from further away. In the 2023 several US states began introducing age verification systems for sites hosting adult material. These methods vary depending on the case but most of the time they are apps, digital wallets where the data on our identity are confirmed and interact with the portals where access is requested.
The EU is working on an app to verify age on social media, von der Leyen: “It will be like for alcoholic drinks”
The European age checker app: code on GitHub
In the European Age Verification Solution portal you can see all the progress related to the development of this application. We analyzed the site to understand what information is there. From data published on roadmap we see that the app can already be found on GitHuba platform dedicated to those who develop code. The version for was released in January 2026 Android while the version for iOSthe operating system used by Apple. In the meantime, the app code can be consulted and commented on. In fact, anyone who wants to analyze the code can do so: the app obviously is open source.
The documents needed to access the app
To understand how the authentication process works, however, you need to consult another document: The Age Verification Manual. It is a portal where the entire project is better explained. Everything is based on technology Zero-Knowledge Proof: in short, when you need to access a portal that requires age verification, the portal communicates with the European Age Verification Solution app. At this point European Age Verification Solution does not provide all our data but only confirms, or denies, the age request. On the Age Verification Manual the process is clarified step by step:
- A user decides to go to a site, or an online service, where there is an age limit
- The site requires that the user be of the age indicated through a standard form. To clarify, a form will be the same for all sites
- At this point comes one notification on the app where our documents were uploaded
- If we are accessing from a PC, a QR Code is generated to be scanned with the smartphone
- Access to site is unlocked
A note. In the pages of The Age Verification Manual it is shown that this function is integrated directly into the EUDI Wallet, the European digital wallet similar to IT Wallet. In short, it is a space where they can be stored different types of documents. There is a problem though: according to the European Commission the EUDI Wallet will be released at the end of 2026. The Age Verification Solution on the other hand will be a different app. From what we read it is therefore one bridging solution before the Age Verification Solution will be introduced before the release of the EUDI Wallet: when the European wallet arrives will be implemented internally.
