As part of these efforts, the Commission is developing an age-verification app, expected to be released by summer 2025, which will serve as a temporary solution until the EU Digital Identity Wallet is available by the end of 2026.

The Commission plans to finalize the guidelines before summer 2025, marking a significant step towards improving digital safety for children.

Stakeholders, including Better Internet for Kids (BIK+) Youth ambassadors, have contributed to the development of these guidelines, which will apply to all online platforms accessible to minors, excluding micro and small enterprises.

These guidelines are designed to ensure that online platforms accessible to minors, defined as individuals under 18, implement necessary protective measures.

Henna Virkkunen, the EU's digital chief, emphasized that the objective of these guidelines is to create a safer online environment for children, enhancing their safety, security, privacy, and well-being.

Proposed measures include age verification for users, defaulting children's accounts to private, and modifying content recommendation algorithms to limit exposure to harmful material.

The EU is currently investigating major platforms like Meta's Facebook and Instagram, and TikTok, for their insufficient measures to protect children from addictive content.

Key harms that the guidelines aim to mitigate include illegal content, unwanted contact, cyberbullying, and overuse of platforms.

A webinar discussing these new legal developments affecting online services and children's privacy is scheduled for June 10, 2025, inviting stakeholders to participate.

The public consultation for feedback on the draft guidelines will remain open until June 10, 2025, with a final version anticipated shortly thereafter.

These guidelines are part of the DSA, which mandates that digital platforms monitor and regulate content, with penalties for non-compliance.

The European Commission is launching a public consultation for draft guidelines aimed at enhancing online safety for children under the Digital Services Act (DSA).