Croatia has established a working group to adopt the new EU regulation on the protection of children in the digital environment, with the system for age verification via the mGrađani application presented at its meeting. This is one of the possible solutions for protecting children online, the Ministry of Justice, Administration and Digital Transformation has announced.
Minister Damir Habijan stated that the working group would define issues important for Croatia's negotiating positions, as well as national measures for the prevention, education and support of children. He stated that the protection of children in the online space is a priority and the goal of the government, and that particular attention would be paid to the implementation of age verification.
The President of the European Commission has announced that the protection of children in the digital environment will be one of the key issues in European digital regulation. Croatia is thus preparing for the proposed EU Kids Act, which is expected to introduce common rules for the protection of children on social media, video sharing platforms, online games, app stores, and AI chatbots and AI companions.
The regulation provides for stricter age verification mechanisms and shifts more responsibility to service providers, who must demonstrate that their services are safe for children. Given that it would be a regulation directly applicable in member states, the Ministry highlights the importance of avoiding different national rules and regulatory fragmentation.
The working group members were presented with the existing age verification model via the mGrađani application, which is already used for the online purchase of alcohol and energy drinks. The user confirms their majority status with one click, while the trader receives only the information that the customer meets the condition of being 18 years old, without access to personal data. The system currently uses 60 traders, 2,138 verifications have been carried out, and 728 verifications have resulted in the issuance of a token confirming majority.
The model could serve as the basis for future age verification solutions in the digital environment, with an emphasis on minimal data exchange and privacy protection. The mGračani application currently has more than 204,000 users, and this year it received the Moje Nekretnine service, which allows citizens to view property data linked to their OIB and download official documents. The eGrađani system, according to the Ministry, is used by more than 2.3 million citizens and offers 126 e-services.
