EU's Digital Services Act: What It Means for Your App

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The European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA) represents the most significant change to online platform regulation in decades. If your app or website is accessible in the EU, you need to understand these requirements—and act on them.

What is the Digital Services Act?

The DSA is comprehensive legislation aimed at creating a safer digital space. It places special emphasis on protecting minors online, with strict requirements for age verification and content moderation.

🇪🇺 DSA Applies To...

All digital services accessible in the EU
Your location doesn't matter—EU accessibility does

Platforms with EU users, regardless of where they're based
US, Asian, or any global company serving EU users

Both large platforms and smaller services
Different requirements based on size, but all must comply

6%
Max Fine of Global Revenue
Feb 2024
Full Enforcement Started
450M+
EU Citizens Protected

Key Requirements for Age Verification

🔍

Know Your Users' Ages

Implement effective systems to verify age, especially for age-restricted content

🛡️

Protect Minors' Data

Special protections for users under 18, including restrictions on profiling and targeted ads

🎨

Age-Appropriate Design

Provide age-appropriate experiences with enhanced safety features for younger users

📋

Transparency

Clearly explain how you verify age and protect children

Penalties for Non-Compliance

⚠️ The DSA Has Serious Teeth

Financial Penalties: Fines up to 6% of global annual revenue (for a $100M company, that's $6M)

Market Access: Service bans in EU markets, cutting off millions of users

Reputation: Public enforcement actions damage brand trust

Legal Liability: Potential lawsuits and ongoing compliance monitoring

How to Achieve Compliance

DSA Compliance Roadmap

Audit your current age verification system—birthdate fields alone are insufficient
Implement robust age verification like biometric verification that meets DSA standards
Update your Privacy Policy to document age verification processes and minor data protections
Train your development, compliance, and support teams on DSA requirements
Establish ongoing monitoring to stay informed and adapt as regulations evolve

Common Misconceptions

"We're not a big platform, so the DSA doesn't apply to us"

Wrong. While some requirements scale with platform size, basic child protection measures apply to all platforms accessible in the EU.

"We can just block EU users"

Difficult and risky. Geo-blocking is hard to implement effectively, and attempting it while failing doesn't protect you from penalties.

"Traditional age gates are good enough"

Not under the DSA. The law requires "effective" age verification. Methods with 90%+ failure rates don't meet that standard.

Why App Bouncer Helps

App Bouncer provides DSA-compliant age verification that's:

  • Effective: 99.7% accuracy rate
  • Privacy-respecting: No biometric data storage
  • Easy to implement: Integration in under 30 minutes
  • Affordable: Free tier available, no hidden costs

Take Action Now

The DSA isn't coming—it's here. Enforcement is ramping up, and regulators are paying attention.

Don't wait for a compliance audit or a penalty notice. Implement proper age verification now and protect both your users and your business.

Ready to Actually Protect Your Users?

Implement biometric age verification in under 30 minutes. No credit card required, no usage limits, no complexity.

Get Started with App Bouncer Free →