Our European age verification app is technically ready and will soon be available for users to prove their age when accessing online platforms. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced this at a press conference this morning. This solution helps us fulfil our duty to “protect our children in the online world, just as we do in the offline world”, the President explained, in an effective and harmonised way at the EU level. It will be easy to use, as you will be able to set it up with your passport or ID card which will be used to verify your age when accessing online services, respecting “the highest privacy standards in the world” on any device. And it is fully open source, which means that our partner countries can also use it on a global scale. “Europe offers a free and easy to use solution that can shield our children from harmful and illegal content” so there will be “no more excuses” for platforms. “Children’s rights in the European Union come before commercial interest”, von der Leyen concluded. “And we will make sure they do”.