The European Commission said a consortium of twelve of the continent’s leading academic institutions, NGOs and technology providers has been awarded EU funding to create a cross-border system for online age verification and parental consent. The ultimate aim of the 18-month project is to enable service providers to verify the age of their users to protect them from harmful content and ensure that younger children have parental consent before they share personal data.
In a statement, the Commission said the euCONSENT system will be designed with help from children and young people and under the guidance of the continent’s leading academic experts, NGOs and other key stakeholders in child rights and online safety. EU Kids Online, Eurochild and COFACE – Families Europe, among others, will provide regular input to the work of the project team, which will be advised by an expert panel chaired by John Carr OBE, one of the world’s leading authorities on children's and young people’s use of the internet and digital technologies.
The goal is to introduce the new system in 2022 following a pilot phase involving over 1,500 children, young people and parents from at least three EU Member States, said the EC, adding that the implementation of child protection and parental consent mechanisms are required under EU legislation such as the Audio-Visual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
