Age verification regulations in the EU and UKIE: What businesses need to know by 2025
Several countries are introducing legislation to protect children from accessing harmful content online. At the EU & UKIE level, too, there are increasing efforts in this regard – governments have enacted new regulations to protect children from dangerous internet. Here are some of the latest and most impactful laws.
In an increasingly digital world, age verification is no longer just a best practice—it’s becoming a legal necessity. With rising concerns about minors accessing harmful or inappropriate content online, governments across the EU, UK, and Ireland are introducing age verification regulations that require businesses to implement effective age verification systems. From social media to streaming services and e-commerce, age verification for online services in the UK and online age checks across the EU are under the spotlight. Regulatory scrutiny is intensifying, and non-compliance can lead to hefty fines and reputational damage.
This guide outlines the digital age verification legal requirements and compliance frameworks in the EU and UK/IE, highlights regional differences,and offers practical advice for businesses to adhere to age verification standards.
Why Age Verification is a growing legal priority
The digital landscape offers unparalleled access to information and entertainment—but also exposes children to inappropriate or harmful content. According to the EU Kids Online 2020 report, 33% of children aged 9–16 had seen sexual images, and 10% of those aged 12–16 accessed harmful content monthly. This troubling data has prompted regulators to crack down on unrestricted access and promote digital age verification to uphold child safety.
As a result, age-restricted content laws in Europe and the UK are becoming central to digital compliance and child protection initiatives. For businesses, keeping up with evolving age verification for e-commerce EU requirements is now essential, not optional.
EU-wide legislation: Harmonized but varied in application
1. Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD)
Overview: The AVMSD lays the foundation for protecting minors from harmful audiovisual content by encouraging national regulations across EU member states.
Key Requirements:
Harmful content must not be accessible to minors.
Media services must improve accessibility for disabled users.
Enforcement: National regulators implement and enforce these directives, guided by the European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services (ERGA).
2. Digital Services Act (DSA)
Overview: Enforced since February 2024, the DSA regulates intermediary services such as social media, app stores, and online platforms.
Key Requirements:
Platforms must ensure privacy and safety for minors, especially in recommender systems and advertising transparency.
Scope: Applies to UK-based and international services that allow user-generated content or publish age-restricted content like pornography.
Key Requirements:
Remove illegal content.
Prevent children from accessing age-inappropriate material.
Enforce The UK Online Safety Act (formerly known as the UK Online Safety Bill)
As of 25 July 2025, any business that hosts or distributes potentially harmful content to minors must implement age verification solutions. Read more about the Safety Act and its implications on businesses [here].
Facial age estimation (a leading-edge age verification technology UK tool)
Penalties: Up to £18 million or 10% of global turnover, plus criminal liability for senior managers.
🗞️ According to The Guardian, these new rules demand tech companies “take responsibility for stopping children seeing harmful content,” making KYC age verification and platform-level solutions non-negotiable.
Identify applicable age verification regulations in their jurisdictions.
Implement robust age verification and other sector-specific solutions.
Regularly update their processes in line with evolving laws
Train staff to handle compliance appropriately
Prepare for audits and enforcement actions
Most affected industries
E-commerce (selling age-restricted products)
Social media (underage user protection)
Streaming services (age-rated content)
Adult content platforms
These industries must act swiftly to avoid enforcement actions, customer trust loss, and brand damage.
Best practices for effective age verification
Move beyond self-declaration: These are no longer acceptable for legal compliance.
Facial age estimation: provides a balance between accuracy and privacy, allowing you to determine user age without requiring an ID.
Deploy document-based checks: Accept government-issued ID where appropriate.
Provide clear user guidance: Help users understand why age verification is required and how their data is handled.
How Veriff can help
Veriff operates globally, and our online age verification allows our customers to ensure a person’s capacity to access restricted content with little to no friction. Veriff has an arsenal of age verification solutions that can be used to verify that the person has reached the required age. For example, age validation utilizes government-issued identity documents, such as a government-issued ID card or driver’s license, or age estimation that allows users to verify their age without requiring identity documents. This means that our customers can stay compliant with existing laws requiring the implementation of age verification systems and stay ahead of the curve.
Veriff’s Age Estimation solution uses facial biometric analysis to estimate a user’s age without requiring the user to provide an identity document. This low-friction solution will enable you to convert more users faster and make it easy for businesses to verify any users who want to access age-gated products or services, but who do not want to share their identity documents, possibly for privacy or ethical reasons.
These tools ensure clients stay compliant with legal age verification regulations mandated by applicable laws.
Veriff’s age verification solutions are uniquely positioned to support platforms like SuperAwesome in their efforts to create a safer online environment for children. By seamlessly integrating Veriff’s age validation and estimation tools, SuperAwesome can ensure that only users above the required age threshold access their platforms, effectively enhancing safety measures. This collaboration enables SuperAwesome to uphold its commitment to safeguarding young audiences while providing developers with the necessary tools to comply with regulatory requirements and foster a secure online community.
As Veriff CEO Kaarel Kotkas explained in a recent Biometric Update interview, building trust online depends on making sure users are who they say they are—and how old they claim to be. Kaarel emphasized that “age verification should not come at the cost of privacy or user friction,” and that biometric tools like facial age estimation represent the next frontier for protecting minors while enhancing digital trust.
The age verification landscape in the EU and UK/IE is evolving quickly. For businesses operating across these regions, staying compliant means more than just legal box-ticking, it’s about protecting young users and safeguarding brand trust.
“Age verification should not come at the cost of privacy or user friction,” and that biometric tools like facial age estimation represent the next frontier for protecting minors while enhancing digital trust.”
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