France, Spain, and Greece Push for Mandatory Age Verification on Social Media

By Netvora Tech News

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France, Spain, and Greece are working together to develop a proposal that would require social media platforms to implement age verification technology for all users. The three countries aim to present their joint proposal to other EU member states in early next month. According to Bloomberg, the new rules would make it mandatory for any device with internet access to contain age verification technology. Several countries have already established age limits for social media or are planning to do so. The three nations argue that the lack of adequate age verification makes it difficult to enforce these limits. If their proposal is adopted, the EU would effectively compel tech companies to develop effective age verification measures. "We must protect our children," French President Emmanuel Macron said during an interview last Tuesday. "It has been shown that social networks are the cause of suffering and mental health problems." In addition to France, Spain, and Greece, Ireland is also reportedly working on the proposal. The plan would eliminate anonymity on social media, a concept that has been met with resistance from some quarters. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos in February, emphasized the need to end anonymity on social media. "We cannot allow people to walk down the street with their faces covered, or drive a car without a license plate. We cannot let people send packages without showing an ID, or buy a hunting rifle without giving their name." "And yet, we allow people to move on social networks without linking their profiles to a real identity. This paves the way for misinformation, hate speech, and cyberbullying," Sanchez continued. He added that individuals have a right to privacy, but not to anonymity. According to the premier, every social media user should be required to identify themselves with an ID. "That's the only way to ensure that minors don't have access to inappropriate content," Sanchez said.