Cyprus plans age limit for social media as EU moves on child protection

Cyprus intends to introduce an age limit for access to social media platforms, Deputy Minister of Innovation Nikodimos Damianou said, as reported by Sigmalive. Speaking on the programme "Mesimeri kai Kati", he said the debate at European level has shifted markedly over roughly the past 12 months, driven by the pace at which technology and the digital world are evolving.

According to official European Commission figures cited by Damianou, 14 member states have either begun legislating or are discussing an age barrier for children's access to social media, while another eight have signalled their intention to do so. On the choice of 15 as the threshold, he said it aligns with the direction several European countries are considering. For Cyprus, he added, it is a significant marker because it coincides with the transition from Gymnasium to Lyceum, and it sits close to the age of 17, when a person gains the right to vote.

Damianou stressed that the discussion cannot be limited to an age barrier alone. Studies and practical experience point to serious challenges arising from minors' use of social media, he said, and there are differing views on whether the answer lies in a ban, parental consent or other control mechanisms. "In an ideal world, if these platforms operated in a way that protected the individual and showed only information suited to their age, we would not need to discuss barriers and measures," he said. He also underlined the role of parents, saying they carry "a very large responsibility", and noted that the action plan includes education, awareness-raising and information aimed not only at children but also at parents, families and society more broadly.

How age verification would work

On verifying users' ages, Damianou acknowledged there can be no absolute guarantee that a system cannot be circumvented, noting that if a parent and child set out to trick it, ways are likely to be found. The European approach, however, provides for a different technical solution: confirming that the user really is who they claim to be and verifying their age, without the platform gaining access to other personal data.

Cyprus, along with five or six other countries, took part in designing and testing the European age-verification mechanism, which is intended as a common solution for all member states, he said. Under the plan, national authorities would communicate with the platform and confirm only whether the user is above or below the required age threshold.

For Cyprus, the mechanism is to be integrated into the "Digital Citizen", the Cypriot citizen's digital wallet. The user would scan a QR code provided by the platform; the request would pass to the Digital Citizen, which would communicate with government systems and return only the necessary information about the age condition. "We will simply send the platform a yes or no on the age limit," Damianou said, stressing that the platform would not receive additional personal data. He described the mechanism as the proposed European solution and the most suitable approach to the issue.

Platforms still responsible in the meantime

Until a common European decision is taken and the single mechanism is in place, platforms will remain responsible for applying their own age-verification tools. Damianou clarified that this obligation is not being created for the first time by the national legislation under discussion, since related duties already exist under the European Digital Services Act and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). What is now being attempted, he said, is a national legal framework to reinforce those obligations.

He also referred to Cyprus's contacts with other member states, particularly Greece and France, which have already moved ahead with comparable technical solutions. He mentioned the European Commission's recent announcement of its intention to pursue a common European approach to protecting children online, saying the content of the relevant European regulatory framework, including the shared technical age-verification mechanism, is expected to be clarified. "We want to send a message that we are now interested and we now want to regulate it. Until now nobody regulated it. The platforms do whatever they want," Damianou said, underlining the need for stricter, coordinated action at European level.