Setting Age Assurance Expectations in Europe

Margarita Akritidou, Legal Officer, European Data Protection Board

Alexandre Euverte, Head of Legal and Data Protection Officer, Yubo

Emily Keaney, Deputy Commissioner Regulatory Policy, U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office

Anna Lucas, Director of Online Safety Supervision, Ofcom

This panel will discuss developments in the EU and the U.K. regarding regulatory expectations for the use of age assurance to protect children online. It will explore the 2025 EDPB age assurance statement, the roll out of the EU Age Verification app and examine the role of age assurance in DSA supervision. The panel will then review Ofcom’s guidance on age assurance for online safety, providing clarity on what Highly Effective Age Assurance means and when Ofcom expect it to be deployed. The audience will hear from the ICO on learning from age assurance investigations, focusing on how age assurance can be used to ensure that the processing of children’s personal information is lawful and effective. To demonstrate how age assurance can be effectively delivered on an actual platform, the audience will hear a case study from a social media service that demonstrates good practice in the use of age assurance.

What you will learn:

• Insights into what regulators think would be effective age assurance for high-risk services. 
• How age assurance can help ensure that their processing is lawful. 
• How age assurance is being applied in practice by a platform (case study).