The European age verification application has serious security vulnerabilities. Experts say it does not effectively address the protection of minors online.

Ursula von der Leyen presented the European age verification application as a solution for protecting minors online, but security experts quickly discovered serious vulnerabilities. These include the unprotected storage of sensitive data and easy methods to bypass biometric authentication.

The application, which is supposed to confirm users' age without revealing their identity, proves to be fragile, and an adult could allow a minor to use it without restriction. Critics, including Thomas Lohninger from epicenter.works, emphasize that the issue is not just the application itself, but also the tension between online protection of children and the risks of permanent identification.

The project, developed with a budget of four million euros, has been contested by over 400 researchers who are calling for an independent audit.

Moreover, security risks increase, and users are forced to provide sensitive data to access services that previously did not require such verifications.

Experiences from other countries suggest that similar restrictions do not significantly reduce risks but may push users towards less regulated platforms.