Cullen International has just updated a benchmark on national age-verification systems to control or restrict minors' exposure to harmful content (such as pornographic content and gratuitous violence) on social media platforms.

Out of the 13 countries analysed, the benchmark shows that France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Spain and the UK have initiatives (in place or proposed) which aim to specify the type of age-verification systems (or their specifications).

The situation is diverse. In terms of services in scope, some national initiatives target a wide scope of online platforms (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and UK), whereas in other countries, initiatives are more limited (e.g. video-sharing platforms only in Ireland).

Further, in some countries, the application of the initiatives is limited to providers established in the national territory, while in other countries, rules apply to providers located in other member states (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and UK).

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