EU Commission issues guidance on Digital Services Act child protection obligations

The European Commission has issued interpretive guidance specifying how platforms designated as very large online platforms and very large online search engines under the Digital Services Act must assess and mitigate systemic risks to children. The guidance addresses grooming, online child sexual exploitation and abuse, exposure to harmful content, and design features that may exploit children's developmental vulnerabilities. Platforms are expected to implement age-appropriate measures, improve reporting mechanisms, and deploy proactive detection technologies, with the Commission retaining enforcement powers including fines of up to six percent of global turnover.

Compliance depends on demonstrating effective harm reduction, not merely implementing access controls. Detection systems that identify coercive escalation and sustained targeting in real-time within direct messaging satisfy the substantive risk-mitigation obligation the DSA imposes. Guardii's platform, operating across Instagram, Snapchat, Discord and Roblox, intercepts grooming and sextortion by analysing conversation patterns rather than monitoring content at scale, surfacing children in crisis to responsible adults and enabling rapid escalation to authorities. The model addresses the specific harms the guidance targets while preserving lawful use and minimising the privacy burden on compliant users including adults.