The EU's new age verification app is ready to be rolled out. But behind the promises of child protection, criticism is growing: the system risks linking internet use to state identity - and thus changing a fundamental principle of online anonymity.
On April 15 announced President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen the Union's new age verification app is ready for launch across Europe.
The so-called 'age app' is intended to be a digital tool that requires users to prove their age before accessing certain websites and services. In practice, this means that the individual links their identity to the app through a passport, ID card or similar document, and then uses the app as a form of digital identification on the internet. The aim is allegedly to protect children from harmful content on social media.
- Our European age verification app is technically ready” and will “soon” be “available for citizens to use, she said, Online platforms can easily rely on our app for age verification, so there are no more excuses.
This marks a clear shift where accessing the internet is no longer just about connecting - but about identifying yourself first. Critics describe it as a fundamental break with how the internet has historically operated.
Compare with vaccine passports
During the presentation, von der Leyen drew a direct parallel to the EU's Covid certificate - a system used to control people's freedom of movement during the pandemic.
- We take this success and apply it to the age verification app. It follows the same principles, the same model, said von der Leyen.
The statement has been met with strong reactions, as the Covid passport effectively meant that people needed to present digital certificates to participate in public life. Critics argue that the same logic now risks being transferred to the internet - where access to information, communication and services can be conditioned by digital credentials.
The comparison has therefore been interpreted as a sign that the system is not just about age verification, but about establishing a model where digital identity requirements become a natural part of everyday life.
Criticism: threat to anonymity and risk of mass surveillance
The most far-reaching criticism concerns the implications for privacy and anonymity. The system relies on users verifying themselves with government-issued identity documents, creating a technical structure that links identity and internet use.
Although the EU claims that the technology should be anonymous, critics point out that the infrastructure itself allows for traceability and control, especially if the system is expanded or changed over time. When identification becomes a requirement for access, the possibility to log, restrict or control usage also arises.
Moreover, as the app is linked to the EU's broader digital identity initiative, there is a clear path towards the same system being used for more purposes in the future. This reinforces concerns about a gradual evolution where more and more aspects of digital life are linked to verified identity.
Experts: could become mandatory for all
Researchers in cybersecurity warnings because the system can quickly be used much more widely than is currently communicated.
- In the future, everyone, not just young people, will have to prove their age via the app to visit certain websites, says Jaap-Henk Hoepman, Associate Professor of Digital Security at Radboud University.
This means that a tool presented as a targeted protection risks becoming a general requirement. If large platforms start using the system widely, it may become difficult in practice to use the internet without identifying oneself.
Also criticized as inefficient
At the same time, it is questioned whether the measure even achieves its claimed purpose. According to experts, the system can be circumvented relatively easily, for example by using another person's verification.
This means that those the system is meant to stop can still get around the barriers, while ordinary users face increased identification requirements. The criticism is therefore about a combination of low efficiency and high privacy implications.
Several commentators warn that this could lead to a situation where extensive controls are introduced - without actually solving the problems cited as reasons.
A decisive change for the internet
The EU's new system effectively links access to parts of the internet to verified identity, rather than anonymous use. This changes not only the way individual services work, but the very essence of the internet as open and accessible.
Critics describe the evolution as a shift from a network where users can act freely and anonymously, to an environment where identity becomes a prerequisite for participation. As the system is expanded and integrated into more services, this change may be difficult to roll back.
The big concern now is that if age verification comes into effect, then the possibility has been opened up to completely regulate access to the internet even in the long term.
Is there no one who can stop this h@##.
It is time to remove the WITCH