Poland’s Ministry of Digital Affairs announced on Monday that it plans to introduce measures this year to ban children from using social networks, requiring platforms to verify the age of users when creating accounts.

Deputy Minister of Digital Affairs, Dariusz Standerski, wrote in X that Poland should “disconnect young people under the age of 16 from the networks.”

Standerski explained that when a user creates an account on social networks, they will be asked to confirm their age, after which a credential will be generated and stored in a digital identity wallet.

He also said that Poland is coordinating work with other member states that are testing similar systems and that the European Commission is working on a harmonized approach to age verification across the 27 bloc. countries.

The Polish proposal follows similar moves in other European countries, following Australia’s decision to restrict access to social networks for children under 16.

France is preparing legislation that would ban the use of social networks by children under 15 starting in the 2026 school year, while Denmark also announced plans for restrictions on under-15s.

In November, The European Parliament backed a report calling for a minimum age of 16 for access to the social network at the EU level, allowing use by 13-15-year-olds only with parental consent, as well as stronger protection measures for minors.

In late December, Poland asked the European Commission to investigate TikTok for content generated by artificial intelligence, which Polish officials said appeared to promote narratives. anti-EU.

Standerski said that the government expects the necessary technical tools to be ready in 2026 and that this makes this year “the right time” to introduce the regulation.

Source: prizrenpost