I propose to take Questions Nos. 648, 649, 650, 651, 652 and 653 together.
Officials in my Department are working with the Office of the Government’s Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) on the development of an age verification tool as part of the Government’s Digital Wallet.
The Wallet is being developed by DPER and the OGCIO under the framework of the EU eIDAS Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2024/1183). That Regulation requires each Member State to introduce a secure digital identity framework provided through a digital wallet to support key life events by providing on request digitized versions of important documents such as driving licences, birth certificates, and age verification credentials. While provision of the wallet by Member States is mandatory, use of the wallet by individuals will be voluntary.
The Government is committed to protecting users’ rights, including privacy. Therefore, the Digital Wallet has been designed to meet high standards of security, safety and all EU data protection legislative requirements. With respect to age verification, the Wallet will function as a “zero-knowledge”, privacy secure, inter-operable age verification tool. This means that the tool will only confirm whether a person is, for example, over 18, without revealing any other personal information such as name or date of birth.
DPER has commenced Phase 1 of its public consultation and testing of the Digital Wallet and is responsible for preparing the Data Protection Impact Assessment for that phase. Participation in the public consultation and testing is voluntary and opportunities for meaningful feedback are built in to that process.
The age verification tool is being developed to support the effective application of the Online Safety Code, which came into full force in July 2025. The Online Safety and Media Regulation Act, 2022 provides the basis for Coimisiún na Meán to develop the Online Safety Code. That Code obliges designated video sharing online platforms to prevent minors (i.e. under 18 years of age) from having access to adult only material such as pornography and gratuitous violence, with the implementation of robust measures. The use of an age verification tool to protect minors from adult content is also specifically envisaged in the European Commission’s guidelines under Article 28 of the Digital Services Act, which were published in July 2025.
The testing of this age verification tool is intended to be included in Phase 2 of the public consultation and testing of the Digital Wallet, which will begin in due course in conjunction with the Office of the Chief Information Officer and DPER. This will take place in a test environment with members of the public who have volunteered to participate. Subject to consultation with the Office of the Attorney General and the Data Protection Commission, the lawful basis for the Phase 2 testing of the age verification tool will be the consent of the participants, in line with Article 6(1)(a) of the General Data Protection Regulation. This is the same lawful basis for the testing of the Digital Wallet as a whole. Individuals will consent at each stage, so will voluntarily choose whether to participate in Phase 2, will decide whether to request an age verification credential, and will determine whether to use that age verification credential if requested to by an designated online video sharing platform. Moreover, the user will be able at any stage to delete the age verification credential from their Wallet.
An additional Data Protection Impact Assessment is being prepared in relation to this aspect of the research and testing, and it will set out the data processing in more detail. The Government is committed to ensuring that users of the age verification tool maintain both privacy and control of their personal data.
The outcome of, and feedback received during, Phase 1 and 2 of the public consultation and testing phase will identify any additional legal issues and inform the legislation that will provide the statutory underpinning for the wallet as a whole, including age verification.
On alternatives to age verification, the Online Safety Code does permit the use of age assurance measures by platforms as another method to prevent minors from accessing adult only content. As stated above, the use of the Government's Digital Wallet would provide a more privacy protecting option, based on user consent and zero knowledge i.e. no details than confirmation of whether a user is over a particular age would be passed on to a platform.
Regulation of social media algorithms, recommender systems, and online advertising is addressed in the Digital Services Act, which is a policy matter for the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment. Implementation of GDPR provisions is a matter for the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration.
Separately, the National Digital and AI Strategy commits Ireland to working with other EU Member States to seek to agree an EU wide approach in relation to access for minors to social media. The European Commission has established a Special Panel to look at child protection online, including reviewing the experience of other jurisdictions such as Australia with respect to age restrictions or bans. That Panel is due to report in the Summer of this year.
It should be noted that age verification in respect of adult content is a separate policy question to the question of restricting social media access for minors.
