No, children don't have to give TikTok their national ID number

Contrary to widespread concern, children are not compelled to divulge personal identification numbers to social media giants to verify their age, according to Øyvind Westby Brekke, CEO of Stø, the company behind Norway's BankID.

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It is a myth that our children are forced to hand over personal data to tech giants to prove their age on social media.

Brekke addressed the approximately 8,000 submissions to a proposal on age limits for social media, noting that many expressed worries about protecting young people's privacy. While acknowledging the distrust in tech companies' handling of personal data, he pointed out that the proposed legislation allows platforms to develop their own age verification solutions. Many parents and young users are hesitant to use BankID, fearing it requires sharing sensitive personal information, but Brekke asserts this fear is based on a myth.

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BankID, which is Norway's most used eID, does not work in such a way that one has to share one's entire identity with Tiktok or Snapchat. On the contrary, login solutions for social media can be built so that only necessary information is shared, for example, that the user is over a certain age. Not name. Not personal number. Not other information.

BankID, Norway's most widely used electronic identification service, can be configured to share only the essential information needed for age verification, such as confirming a user is over a certain age, without disclosing their name, national ID number, or other personal details. This aligns with the General Data Protection Regulation's principle of data minimization. The BankID app's ID card function, for instance, only shares age and a photo during verification, with no personal data stored by the recipient afterward.

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We understand the concerns well. Fortunately, they are based on a myth.

While BankID is used by 4.7 million Norwegians, Brekke acknowledges the need to expand access, especially for individuals with D-numbers and for teenagers over 15 who can now obtain BankID without parental consent. He concluded by stating that the focus should remain on the genuine privacy risks posed by tech giants, including massive data collection, addictive design, algorithmic control, and harmful content, rather than on the resolvable issue of age verification.

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There are enough privacy traps and problems to address with tech giants. Children and young people already face massive data collection, addictive design, algorithmic control, and harmful content on global platforms with weak age control. It is these completely real problems we must address, not pseudo-problems that can be solved with today's technology.