Add EU age verification + Cyprus ban articles (EN/DE/FR)

Two new articles covering this weeks news:
1. EU Commission age verification app (April 15) with parental options guide
2. Cyprus under-15 social media ban (April 16)

Also updates Greece article Cyprus section and global country data.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

content/en/cyprus-social-media-ban-under-15.md

@@ -0,0 +1,94 @@
+---
+title: "Cyprus Bans Social Media for Children Under 15"
+date: 2026-04-16
+description: "President Christodoulides announced that Cyprus will ban social media for children under 15 — becoming the latest EU country to act. Here is how the ban works and how Cyprus plans to enforce it."
+tags: ["child protection", "legislation", "Cyprus", "social media ban", "age verification", "Europe"]
+categories: ["legislation"]
+author: "Agiliton"
+slug: "cyprus-social-media-ban-under-15"
+translationKey: "cyprus-social-media-ban"
+further_reading:
+  - "greece-social-media-ban"
+  - "eu-age-verification-app"
+---
+
+Cyprus has become the latest European country to ban social media for children. On April 16, 2026, President Nikos Christodoulides announced that children under 15 will no longer be allowed to use social media platforms in Cyprus.
+
+The announcement comes just one day after the European Commission declared its age verification app technically ready for deployment — and just eight days after neighboring Greece announced its own under-15 ban.
+
+## What Is Being Banned?
+
+The ban targets social media platforms built around user-generated content and algorithmic feeds:
+
+**Banned platforms:**
+- TikTok
+- Instagram
+- Facebook
+- Snapchat
+- X (formerly Twitter)
+
+**Still allowed:**
+- WhatsApp, Viber, Messenger (messaging apps)
+- YouTube (video platform)
+- Educational platforms
+
+The distinction follows the same logic as Greece's approach: platforms designed to keep users scrolling through algorithmic feeds are restricted, while communication tools and video platforms remain accessible.
+
+## How Cyprus Plans to Enforce It
+
+This is where Cyprus differs from earlier efforts. Rather than leaving enforcement entirely to platforms, Cyprus is building on the EU's new age verification infrastructure:
+
+**The EU age verification app.** The app uses zero-knowledge proofs — a cryptographic method that lets a user prove they are over a certain age without revealing their birthdate or any personal data. Cyprus plans to integrate this into its national "Digital Citizen" application within 2026.
+
+**Platform responsibility.** Social media companies will be required to verify the age of users in Cyprus using the EU app or an equivalent system. Platforms that fail to block underage users face sanctions of up to **6% of global annual turnover** — a penalty modeled on the EU's Digital Services Act.
+
+**No ID uploads to platforms.** Because the verification uses zero-knowledge proofs, children and parents do not need to upload passports, birth certificates, or biometric data to TikTok or Instagram. The proof stays on the device; the platform only receives a yes-or-no answer.
+
+## When Does It Take Effect?
+
+President Christodoulides said the ban will come into force "later this year," though specific dates remain pending public consultation. Based on the timeline for integrating the EU age verification app, a realistic implementation window is **late 2026**.
+
+## Cyprus and Greece: Neighbors, Same Approach
+
+The similarities between Cyprus and Greece are striking:
+
+| | Greece | Cyprus |
+|---|---|---|
+| **Age limit** | Under 15 | Under 15 |
+| **Announced** | April 8, 2026 | April 16, 2026 |
+| **Takes effect** | January 1, 2027 | Late 2026 (TBC) |
+| **Enforcement** | EU age verification app | EU age verification app + Digital Citizen |
+| **Messaging apps** | Exempt | Exempt |
+| **YouTube** | Exempt | Exempt |
+
+Both countries are among the seven EU member states piloting the EU age verification app. Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis has called for a unified EU-wide framework by year-end — and Cyprus's swift follow-up suggests the two countries are coordinating their approach.
+
+## A Growing European Wave
+
+Cyprus joins a growing list of countries restricting children's access to social media:
+
+| Country | Age Limit | Status | Key Detail |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| **Australia** | Under 16 | Enforced (Dec 2025) | First country globally; ~70% circumvention reported |
+| **Indonesia** | Under 16 | Enforced (Mar 2026) | Companies summoned for non-compliance |
+| **France** | Under 15 | Passed (Apr 2026) | Arcom regulator blacklist approach |
+| **Greece** | Under 15 | Announced (Apr 2026) | Takes effect Jan 2027 |
+| **Cyprus** | Under 15 | Announced (Apr 2026) | EU age verification app + Digital Citizen |
+| **Denmark** | Under 15 | Proposed | Part of EU pilot group |
+| **Norway** | Under 15 | Proposed | Bill in progress |
+
+## Not Just a Ban: Digital Citizenship Education
+
+Cyprus is taking a dual approach. Alongside the social media ban, the government has introduced a separate bill to make **digital citizenship education mandatory** in all schools.
+
+The idea is that banning platforms is a short-term measure to protect children who are not yet ready for social media. The long-term goal is to teach young people how to use the internet safely, critically evaluate content, recognize manipulation, and protect their own privacy — so that when they do turn 15, they are better prepared.
+
+## What This Means for Families
+
+- **In Cyprus**: Once the ban takes effect, platforms will be legally required to block under-15s. Parents will have legal backing — not just parental controls — to keep young children off social media.
+- **Across Europe**: Cyprus is the fifth EU country to announce concrete action in 2026. The momentum toward an EU-wide standard is building.
+- **Right now**: The ban is not yet in force. Families who want to restrict social media access today can combine device-level controls with [VPN-based DNS filtering](/en/layers-of-online-protection-why-vpn-matters/) for protection that works on every network.
+
+---
+
+*For more on Greece's ban, see [Greece to Ban Social Media for Under-15s from 2027](/en/greece-social-media-ban-under-15/). For an overview of the EU's age verification app and what parents can do today, read [The EU Wants an Age Verification App — What Parents Can Do Right Now](/en/eu-age-verification-app-parental-options/).*

content/en/eu-age-verification-app-parental-options.md

@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+---
+title: "The EU Wants an Age Verification App — What Parents Can Do Right Now"
+date: 2026-04-16
+description: "The European Commission has announced an age verification app based on zero-knowledge proofs. Seven countries plan to integrate it by the end of 2026. Here is what it means — and what parents can do today."
+tags: ["age verification", "EU", "parental controls", "VPN", "DNS filtering", "Digital Services Act", "zero-knowledge proof"]
+categories: ["legislation"]
+author: "Agiliton"
+slug: "eu-age-verification-app-parental-options"
+translationKey: "eu-age-verification-app"
+further_reading:
+  - "parental-controls-2026"
+  - "layers-of-protection"
+---
+
+On April 15, 2026, the European Commission announced that its age verification app is technically ready for deployment. The system uses zero-knowledge proofs — a cryptographic method that lets a person prove they are above a certain age (13, 16, or 18) without revealing their actual birthdate or any other personal data.
+
+Seven EU member states — France, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Greece, Cyprus, and Ireland — plan to integrate the app into their national digital identity wallets by the end of 2026. The goal is to provide a single, privacy-preserving standard that platforms can rely on, replacing the current patchwork of national rules with something that actually works across borders.
+
+## Why This Matters
+
+The past twelve months have seen a wave of national social media bans for children. Australia was first, banning under-16s in December 2025. France, Greece, Denmark, and Cyprus have all followed with under-15 bans in various stages of legislation and enforcement.
+
+But bans without enforcement are just words. Australia's experience shows the problem clearly: four months after its ban took effect, studies suggest around 70% of children still found ways to access the platforms. The reason is simple — there was no reliable way to verify age.
+
+Platform self-regulation has also failed. Most social media services technically require users to be 13 or older, but a checkbox asking "Are you over 13?" has never stopped a determined ten-year-old.
+
+The EU's app could change this. By tying age verification to official identity documents and using zero-knowledge proofs, it avoids the privacy trap — no face scans stored on corporate servers, no copies of passports uploaded to TikTok. The user proves their age bracket once, and the credential is reusable across platforms.
+
+## But It Is Not Here Yet
+
+"Technically ready" does not mean "available tomorrow." Deployment depends on each member state integrating the app into its digital identity infrastructure. Platform adoption is voluntary unless the Digital Services Act mandates it — and that regulatory push is still in progress.
+
+Realistically, most families will not have access to this tool until late 2026 or 2027. Children are online now.
+
+## What Parents Can Do Today
+
+There is no single tool that solves online safety. But there are four categories of protection, each covering something the others miss.
+
+**1. Device-level controls (iOS Screen Time, Google Family Link).** These are built into the phone and handle app install approvals, daily time limits, and content ratings. They work on that one device, on any network. The weakness: web-based content is poorly filtered, and a child who knows the passcode can change settings. A second browser or a web app bypasses most restrictions entirely.
+
+**2. Router-level DNS filtering.** Changing the DNS server on the home router to a family-safe provider (like Cloudflare 1.1.1.3 or NextDNS) blocks entire categories of content for every device on the home network — phones, tablets, smart TVs, game consoles. The limitation is obvious: it only works at home. Mobile data, school Wi-Fi, and a friend's house are all unfiltered.
+
+**3. Browser extensions and safe search.** Google SafeSearch, YouTube Restricted Mode, and browser-based content filters add another layer. But they only cover one browser, on one device. A child who opens a different browser, uses an app instead of the web, or simply turns off the extension is unprotected.
+
+**4. VPN with DNS filtering.** A family VPN installed on the child's device tunnels all internet traffic — every app, every browser, every network — through a curated DNS blocklist that travels with the device. It works at home, on mobile data, on school Wi-Fi, on holiday. The blocklist filters entire content categories (social media, adult content, gambling, dating) as well as ads, trackers, and malware. In a locked-down child profile, the VPN cannot be disabled by the child.
+
+## Why VPN Stands Out
+
+The first three tools all share a common problem: they stop at a boundary. Screen Time stops at the app level. The router stops at the front door. Browser filters stop at the browser. A determined child — and most are determined — can step around each one.
+
+A VPN with DNS filtering is the only layer that travels with the device and cannot be switched off. It does not replace Screen Time (which is still the best tool for app time limits) or router filtering (which still covers every device at home). But it fills the gap that the others leave open: portable, always-on content filtering that works regardless of which network the device connects to.
+
+It also has a privacy advantage that matters in the context of age verification. Unlike the EU app (which requires linking to government ID), and unlike platform-level ID checks (which raise questions about who stores the data), DNS-level filtering does not collect personal data about the child. It simply blocks categories of content at the network level — no identity, no biometrics, no data to leak.
+
+For families looking for a solution that works today — not in late 2026 when the EU app might be available — a combination of device controls and a family VPN with DNS filtering is the strongest setup available.
+
+---
+
+*For a detailed comparison of Screen Time, Family Link, router filters, and VPN filtering, see the [Parental Controls 2026 guide](/en/parental-controls-2026-practical-guide/). For a deep dive into why a VPN is the layer that holds everything together, read [The Seven Layers of Online Protection](/en/layers-of-online-protection-why-vpn-matters/).*

content/en/greece-social-media-ban-under-15.md

@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ Greece is not alone. Countries around the world are taking similar steps:
 | **Indonesia** | Under 16 | Enforced (Mar 2026) | Companies summoned for non-compliance |
 | **France** | Under 15 | Passed (Apr 2026) | Arcom regulator blacklist approach |
 | **Greece** | Under 15 | Announced (Apr 2026) | Takes effect Jan 2027 |
+| **Cyprus** | Under 15 | Announced (Apr 2026) | EU age verification app + Digital Citizen |
 | **Norway** | Under 15 | Proposed | Bill in progress |
 
 ## Does It Actually Work? The Australian Experience
@@ -72,17 +73,15 @@ To enforce a ban, platforms need to know how old their users are. But verifying
 
 Greece, along with France, Denmark, Italy, Spain, and Cyprus, is part of an **EU age verification pilot program** testing solutions that link to national population registries.
 
-## What About Cyprus?
+## Update: Cyprus Follows with Its Own Ban
 
-As an EU member state and close neighbor of Greece, Cyprus is watching closely:
+Just eight days after Greece's announcement, Cyprus followed suit. On April 16, 2026, President Nikos Christodoulides announced that children under 15 will no longer be allowed to use social media in Cyprus — making it the latest EU country to act.
 
-- **Current age limit**: 14 (under GDPR framework)
-- **Active proposal**: A bill to raise the minimum age from 14 to 16 is being debated in the House Legal Affairs Committee
-- **EU presidency priority**: President Nikos Christodoulides has declared child digital safety a priority for Cyprus's 2026 EU presidency
-- **Joint letter**: Cyprus co-signed a letter with France, Greece, Spain, Denmark, and Slovenia calling for an EU-wide "digital age of majority"
-- **Age verification pilot**: Cyprus is one of six EU countries testing age verification technology
+Cyprus plans to enforce the ban using the EU's new age verification app, integrated into its national "Digital Citizen" application. Platforms that fail to block underage users face sanctions of up to 6% of global annual turnover.
 
-Cyprus has also introduced a separate bill to make **digital citizenship education mandatory** in all schools — teaching young people to use the internet safely rather than simply banning them from parts of it.
+The country is also making digital citizenship education mandatory in all schools — combining a ban with long-term education.
+
+For full details, see [Cyprus Bans Social Media for Children Under 15](/en/cyprus-social-media-ban-under-15/).
 
 ## Both Sides of the Debate