There are no excuses anymore. Companies will no longer be able to say that they cannot certify that a minor has impersonated an adult to access content that is prohibited for them, such as pornography or gambling sites. Nor do 10-year-old children enter social networks, such as Tik Tok (whose minimum age is set at 14 years). It is technically possible to verify the age of the user and do so while respecting the anonymity of adults. This has been demonstrated by the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) together with the National Currency and Stamp Factory (FNMT), who are already working on an application that corroborates this and which will be available to the industry for free.

Tomorrow the meetings with the industry begin to remind them that Spanish law requires that minors be prevented from accessing social networks and content not suitable for them and that in February, a European decree comes into force that extends the ban throughout Europe. And to make it clear that the system that these companies apply (whether that of the FNMT or their own) will have to guarantee, among other issues, that the user, neither their location nor their profile, is not identified and that it must be anonymous for users. internet service providers and third entities, according to the criteria established by the AEPD.

“Because, it can be done and we have proven it,” say the director of the AEPD, Mar España, and the president of the FNMT, Isabel Valldecabres, who remind that if these verification systems are not implemented, companies may be fined up to with up to 3% of their annual turnover and, if they do not correct the system, closure could be ordered.

The application, which is being designed by the FNMT and has already been tested on mobile phones, computers and video game consoles, is expected to be ready in the summer. In short, this consists of content providers installing an age verification system that forces the user who wants to enter social networks or dangerous content to download an application that, either through a QR, password or other mechanism, gives them access to them.

This type of certificate would work in a similar way to the electronic certificate that is usually used to carry out online transactions and would also be issued by the National Mint and Stamp Factory based on an official document such as the DNI, passport or driving license.

But with the particularity that it would be anonymous: it only proves that its owner is over 14 or 18 years old and does not share any further user data such as name, surname or exact age with the content provider, which avoids mass profiling or collection and processing of unnecessary data.

Spain has indicated that this method is the result of “inter-ministerial” work, in which the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Digital Transformation, among other institutions, have been involved.

This project is born from a concern about premature and abusive access by minors to inappropriate content: according to data indicated by Mar España, 60% of adolescents consume pornography – 2 out of every 3 hard pornography – and they start in the consumption, on average, at 12 years old.

In the same way that early access to tobacco or alcohol has been regulated because “scientific evidence” shows that their consumption in “critical” stages of brain development is harmful, there is still “a lot to do” in the field of Internet and social networks, Spain has lamented.

Regarding the Agency’s ability to guarantee that content providers implement this or another age verification system that complies with the requirements established by this body, now included in a decalogue, its president has assured that “it will be possible to force all”.

This is supported by the General Law of Audiovisual Communication, the General Data Protection Regulation and, at the European level, the Digital Services Regulation, which will come into force next February.

For its part, the CNMC has announced that starting today it is opening a public consultation aimed at the digital industry and the different agents involved “in order to be able to know the situation of the age verification systems with the aim of achieving an efficient standard. ”. The consultation is open until January 31, 2024.