European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stood before journalists in Brussels on April 15, 2026, declaring the bloc’s new age verification app technically ready. Users download it. Scan a passport or national ID. Platforms get a simple yes or no on age thresholds. No birthdates. No names. No tracking. This tool arrives amid mounting pressure on tech giants. Children face harmful content, bullying, addictive algorithms. The TechRepublic report first highlighted its privacy-first design, noting how it lets sites confirm if someone meets 16 or 18 without personal data leaks. Open source code invites scrutiny. It runs on phones, tablets, computers. But von der Leyen didn’t mince words. “Online platforms can easily rely on our age verification app. So there are no more excuses,” she said alongside Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen in their joint statement .…