European Commission: In the age verification app, a heart from Google beats

The European Commission's upcoming age verification app, intended to allow users to prove their age to online services, has drawn scrutiny from IT experts. Despite the Commission's ambition for this app to become a global standard, its reliance on technology developed by Google engineers has raised concerns about potential dependencies and data privacy risks. This development is particularly relevant as the EU prepares to launch its broader EUDI Wallet initiative. The core of the age verification app utilizes a Zero Knowledge Proof (ZKP) mechanism, enabling dataspare verification without revealing users' exact age or other sensitive personal data. This process relies on digital signatures for secure authentication, with attributes of age verification being signed by an "Attestation Provider" such as banks, mobile operators, or government bodies. These trusted entities digitally confirm the authenticity of age confirmations before issuing them to the app. Security professionals have voiced criticism regarding the chosen technological approach, arguing it is less efficient and more prone to risks than existing, well-researched alternatives not tied to a single commercial entity. The concern is that using standards that foster dependencies could compromise data protection levels and overall functionality, especially in light of the upcoming EUDI Wallet, which aims to provide a unified digital identity solution across the EU.