Commission takes further action to promote a safe environment for minors

The Commission has taken further steps to shield children and teenagers from online risk actions while upholding their rights online.

First, the Commission has sent information requests to Snapchat, YouTube, Apple App Store and Google Play to understand the measures these companies have in place to protect minors on their services. This is the first investigatory step following the adoption of the Guidelines on the Protection of Minors in July 2025.

At the same time, the European Board for Digital Services’ Working Group for the protection of minors, has agreed to take action to ensure compliance with the DSA by smaller online platforms, in coordination with the competent authorities. These actions will include identifying those platforms which pose the greatest risk for children and checking platforms’ compliance with the required high level of child safety under the DSA. The Working Group will also develop and share common tools for investigatory and enforcement steps to ensure consistency across the EU.

To enhance awareness of the Guidelines across the EU, they are available in all 24 official languages of the EU. Moreover, a user-friendly version in English is now accessible, with further translations available by the Safer Internet Forum on 4 December 2025. This simplified version illustrates the main takeaways of the guidelines in a more accessible way to children, families, educators, and stakeholders across Europe, helping to spark conversations in homes and schools about how to ensure minors thrive online.

These actions are accompanied by the publication of the second blueprint for an EU age verification solution, which introduces the use of passports and identity cards as onboarding methods, as well as support for the Digital Credentials API.

Finally, as set out by President von der Leyen in her SOTEU speech, the Commission is also setting up an advisory panel tasked with exploring the best approach for the European Union regarding safe  online experience for minors on social media services.