Video sharing platforms based in Ireland will face new regulatory obligations to verify users' ages before showing adult content from July, according to Coimisiún na Meán’s Online Safety Commissioner.
Speaking on Prime Time, Niamh Hodnett said the commission will be "supervising" the platforms to "see what measures have they put in place" from 21 July.
The new measures are part of Coimisiún na Meán’s Online Safety Code, which requires that platforms hosting pornographic or violent material ensure such content is not accessible without robust age checks. Video-sharing platforms whose terms and conditions do not preclude the uploading or sharing of adult-only video content will be covered by the code.
Platforms "have an obligation in relation to age assurance and also parental controls as well as content rating," Ms Hodnett said.
"What we require from the July date is either age estimation or age verification, and it has to be effective," Ms Hodnett said.
"To date, all the measures have been self-declaration... That’s not an effective form of age assurance or age verification."
Ms Hodnett also outlined several approaches that could meet the new standards.
"That could be done by facial recognition, for example, or cognitive skills, or capacity testing - a maths or puzzle skill or something like that. It can also be done by hard age verification... uploading IDs, whether they’re digital IDs or actual copies of passports or driver’s licenses."
Read more: Inside the face scanning tech behind social media age limits
The Commission will not mandate any specific technology, but Ms Hodnett said the systems must be "robust, privacy-respecting, and holding data for no longer than it is necessary".
Concerns around privacy were also addressed. Ms Hodnett explained that age verification could be handled through secure intermediaries, not directly by the platforms themselves.
"It can be provided to an API or almost like a middleman," she said. "That would just give a signal or a token to the platform as to yes or no, that person is over 18. You wouldn’t be sharing your passport or your driver’s license with the particular platform... these interfaces or these APIs can just give that signal, and that can be done in a privacy-compliant way."
The Commissioner confirmed Ireland is working with European and UK regulators to align age assurance standards. "Together with the European Commission and fellow regulators across the EU... and our colleagues in Ofcom in the UK... it’s all coming together this year in relation to effective age assurance."
She also pointed to the EU’s planned digital identity wallet, which is expected to launch by the end of 2026, with a test version available later this year. The system will allow users to verify their age without sharing personal identification with platforms.
While age verification has dominated headlines, Ms Hodnett was clear that it is only one part of Ireland’s broader online safety strategy.
"It’s not the silver bullet to solve all problems of online safety in this space," she said.
"There are other measures that we require in our code, such as effective parental controls... restrictions on who can contact a child or whose content can be seen in relation to a child, because we’re concerned also about grooming and child sex abuse material."
Asked whether stricter enforcement could drive young users toward the dark web, Ms Hodnett acknowledged the risk but said public education was also key.
"We provide tools and information on our website...guidance for parents, for children, indeed for all of us," she said.
"We also have education materials that we shared with every school in the country."
The first enforcement deadline under the Online Safety Code begins 21 July, when granular requirements for age assurance and other safety measures come into force.
