Cyprus has officially joined the European Union's pilot program to introduce technology to verify the age of users on social networks.
The initiative comes amid growing calls in the EU to set age restrictions on access to digital platforms for those under 16.
On November 26, the European Parliament, by a majority vote of 483 in favor, 92 against and 86 abstentions, approved a recommendatory resolution calling for strengthening the protection of minors from manipulative practices on the Internet. The document also calls for consideration of setting the minimum age for access to social media at 16, following the example of Australia.
Cyprus joined the pilot project in October 2025, becoming the sixth EU state after France, Denmark, Greece, Italy and Spain. According to the Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, the new system will be integrated with national population registers and built into the Digital Citizen application.
The verification mechanism involves initial verification through the user’s mobile phone. After this, digital services can be accessed from any device. Moreover, the system is intended not only for social networks, but also for all online services that require age verification.
A number of EU countries already have stricter rules. Thus, France, Germany and Italy have introduced age restrictions and mandatory parental consent for minor users.
Currently, most social networks rely only on self-declaration of age, which is easily circumvented. The ministry said that work on the technical requirements for the full implementation of the system continues, and the first results of the Cyprus pilot project are expected in the first half of 2026.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has already convened an expert committee to comprehensively study the issue of age verification. Cyprus, in turn, has identified the protection of children in the digital environment as one of the priorities of its Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2026.
Educational psychologist at the Ministry of Education Dimitra Nikolaou Anastasiou noted that age restrictions can serve a protective function, but in themselves do not solve the problem. According to her, with weak control, bans often lead to the opposite effect: teenagers create fake accounts and go into “shadow” use of social networks.
She also emphasized that scientific research has linked early and uncontrolled use of social networks with lack of sleep, decreased concentration and increased social comparison, but no direct link has been identified between social networks and mental disorders. The main risk factors are family problems, violence, inequality, economic pressure and lack of support.
The Deputy Minister emphasized that no technological or regulatory solution can be effective on its own without cooperation with digital platforms and the collective responsibility of states.
Earlier it was reported that Australia had introduced a complete ban on social media for those under 16, combining it with enhanced age verification and long-term research into the impact of the digital environment on the mental health of adolescents.
Source: in-cyprus.philenews.com
