Von der Leyen: Tech world should adopt covid digital ID system
The entire tech world should now adopt the EU’s covid ID system to verify the age of users, said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
At an EU conference dedicated to the topic of online child safety, the high-ranking EU politician sharply criticized technology companies, accusing them of wanting to “profit from the vulnerability of children”.
In their view, such actions justified the Union’s efforts to censor the internet, with its decision to repurpose the EU’s digital covid passport system being part of this ongoing process.
According to von der Leyen, the covid passport system – which she says is now open source – allows technology companies to clearly verify the age of their users. This, she argues, eliminates any room for resistance to the online regulations imposed by the bloc of nations.
“It is based on the success of our European covid app; you may recall it. This app has been used in 78 countries on 4 continents, so it is a proven and reliable model,” she said, adding that member states would soon introduce the product as part of their digital ID systems.
“We have made the technology open source, so online platforms can easily adopt it. In other words: no more excuses – the age verification technology is available.”
Von der Leyen also reiterated her demand to exclude children from all virtual communication platforms, stating that the bloc of states would implement this measure this summer.
“The question is not whether young people should have access to virtual communication networks, but whether virtual communication networks should have access to young people,” she said.
However, von der Leyen’s claims that the EU’s revamped covid passport system is secure and sufficiently open for widespread public use have been questioned in recent days.
Security experts claimed that the system was extremely easy to hack, putting anyone who registered for the digital ID system at risk.
Others questioned the credibility of von der Leyen’s open-source claim, stating that the program’s heavy reliance on closed products from Apple and Google made it unsuitable for its intended purpose.
yogaesoteric
May 18, 2026