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Age-of-consent and education-setting guidance are strongly evidenced; minor-profiling-ban and dependent-adult sub-modules lack directly retrieved DPC-specific sourcing.
Sub-modules (5)
Age VerificationGreen
GDPR permits Member States to set the digital-consent age between 13 and 16; Ireland elected the maximum permissible age of 16.
Claims (1):
- The GDPR permits Member States to set the age of digital consent for information society services between 13 and 16 years, and Ireland elected the maximum permissible age of 16.
Parental ConsentGreen
Below the age-of-16 threshold, online information-society-service providers must generally obtain parental consent under Article 8 GDPR / DPA 2018.
Claims (1):
- Ireland's Data Protection Act 2018 sets the age of digital consent at 16 years under Article 8 GDPR, requiring parental consent for information-society-service processing of children's data below that age.
Minor Profiling BansRed
No DPC-specific minor-profiling-ban guidance or enforcement was retrieved in this pass.
Absence provenance: unavailable. Searched: unavailable.
Education SettingsGreen
The DPC published finalised guidance on child-oriented data processing covering offline educational, sporting, social and health/support settings likely to be accessed by children.
Claims (1):
- The DPC published its finalised guidance, 'Fundamentals for a Child-Oriented Approach to Data Processing,' on 17 December 2021, covering data processing in offline educational, sporting, social and health/support settings likely to be accessed by children.
Dependent AdultsRed
No DPC-specific dependent-adult (elderly, mentally incapacitated) protections guidance was retrieved in this pass.
Absence provenance: unavailable. Searched: unavailable.
Children & Vulnerable Groups
Coimisiun na Mean's Online Safety Code imposes specific obligations directed at protecting children online. Section 12.10 requires effective age assurance, stating explicitly that self-declaration alone is not considered effective. Section 14 requires parental controls to be made available where a service permits use by under-16s. Section 17.2 bans the commercial reuse of data collected for age-assurance purposes. Part A of the Code has applied from 19 November 2024, and Part B from 21 July 2025.
On 8 September 2026, Coimisiun na Mean opened its first formal investigation under the Online Safety Code, into the platform X. This is the first occasion on which the Commission has used its investigatory powers under the Code since those provisions took effect, and it marks the transition of the children's-safety framework from a set of standing obligations into one with an active enforcement record.
Outlook
As the first formal Code investigation, the outcome of the inquiry into X is likely to be read as an indication of how the Commission intends to apply the age-assurance and parental-control provisions in practice, and of what evidentiary standard it will require platforms to meet to demonstrate effective age assurance.
Sources and claims (3)
- ProbableEuropean Data Protection Board — The GDPR permits Member States to set the age of digital consent for information society services between 13 and 16 years, and Ireland elected the maximum permissible age of 16.observed
- ProbableData Protection Commission — Ireland's Data Protection Act 2018 sets the age of digital consent at 16 years under Article 8 GDPR, requiring parental consent for information-society-service processing of children's data below that age.observed
- ProbableDataGuidance / OneTrust — The DPC published its finalised guidance, 'Fundamentals for a Child-Oriented Approach to Data Processing,' on 17 December 2021, covering data processing in offline educational, sporting, social and health/support settings likely to be accessed by children.observed