The declaration, signed by the Minister for State and Administrative Modernization, Gonçalo Matias, on behalf of Portugal, stipulates that digital service providers, such as social media platforms, must ensure “effective age verification that preserves privacy on social networks and other digital services.”
The document aims to protect minors from “harmful commercial practices” in the digital environment as well as “addictive or manipulative designs.”
The declaration also calls for measures to mitigate “excessive data collection, especially concerning minors.”
“With the adoption of this declaration, we intend to promote a digital environment that ensures greater safety and protection for minors,” the declaration states, signed at the end of a meeting under the Danish presidency of the European Union Council.
The declaration welcomes the European Commission’s guidelines on online child protection, adopted under the Digital Services Act (DSA), to ensure digital service providers implement measures to “ensure a high level of privacy, security, and protection for minors using their services.”
The European Commission is developing a voluntary European digital identity wallet (EU-DI), expected to be available by member states by the end of 2026.
