Scientists urge moratorium on teen social media age verification

As many countries around the world debate banning teenagers from social media, a group of scientists issued a joint statement on the matter on Monday, outlining the potential negative effects of such decisions. The authors called for a moratorium on similar measures until “the scientific consensus settles” on both the benefits and harms of age-assurance technologies.

405 signatories come from 30 countries worldwide, including 16 EU Member States: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the Netherlands.

Negative scenario #1: bypassing restrictions through VPNs, fake credentials, and even parents’ help

The letter reiterates something observed in the UK and elsewhere: age-assurance checks are easy to bypass - through VPNs, “bought or borrowed credentials”, “props or AI-based tools (e.g., deepfakes or AI-generated profiles)”, or even parents' help. 

“There is ample evidence from existing deployments that lying about age is not hard. It can be as easy as using age-verified accounts borrowed from an elder sibling or friend. In fact, there are reported cases of parents helping their children with age circumvention. There is evidence that, shortly after age-based controls appear, markets and services that sell valid accounts or credentials quickly arise.”

Negative scenario #2: Exodus to fringe platforms and related security risks

The letter also states that age-assurance checks might not only be ineffective but also lead to a less secure digital environment for consumers, exposing them to malware and scams if they resort to services that do not implement verification and are not subject to the same requirements as major platforms.

“Deplatforming has been repeatedly shown not to deter users from carrying out an activity. Instead, they migrate to another platform where they can continue their activities. If minors or adults are deplatformed via age-related bans, they are likely to migrate to find similar services. Since the main platforms would all be regulated, it is likely that they would migrate to fringe sites that escape regulation. This would not only negate any benefit of the age-based controls but also expose users to other dangers, such as scams or malware that are monitored in mainstream platforms but exist on smaller providers.”

Negative scenario #3: new infrastructure needed to support age verification - it will take years and carry its own risks

The letter also states that, for age-assurance checks to be truly effective, new services and infrastructure would need to be built to make bypassing difficult for users. While verification based on government-issued IDs, or, in the European Union’s case, a digital wallet, has potential, implementing such measures in practice comes with its own obstacles.

The letter rightly notes that the EUDI Wallet infrastructure has not yet been rolled out, and interoperability with third countries remains unresolved. In fact, the EUDI Wallet’s interoperability challenges have not been fully solved even within the EU, and it remains a complex project that will take years to implement.

“The EUDI Wallet promises to solve some of these challenges at the European level, yet the infrastructure has not been rolled out, revocation has not yet been resolved, and interoperability beyond the European Union has not been tackled.”

Lastly, although privacy arguments are often overlooked in the EU, they are an important issue that needs to be assessed.

Even if EU Member States - first individually, then collectively, alongside other jurisdictions - apply age-verification requirements more broadly, including to VPNs (and thus limiting circumvention opportunities), this would create real privacy issues for consumers, with particularly negative effects on citizens of countries with undemocratic regimes.