Online Safety for Minors: A Practical DSA Guide for Your E-Commerce Business

The phone rings at 8:15 p.m. It’s a parent. Their 15-year-old son bought a drone from your e-commerce site that he shouldn’t have been able to purchase, and now they want to know how you verified his age. You don’t have a legal counsel at your company. You don’t have a compliance team. You just have your online store and a concerned customer on the other end of the line. Online child safety is no longer just a concern for Facebook or TikTok. It also affects those who sell clothing, electronics, and digital products. The Digital Services Act (DSA) has introduced obligations that cascade down to all platforms, including small and medium-sized ones. You don’t have to become an expert in European law, but you do need to know what has changed for your e-commerce business.

What’s Actually Changing for Online Sellers

The DSA requires platforms to make their services understandable even to a teenager. This isn’t a suggestion—it’s a transparency requirement. If a 14-year-old lands on your site, they must understand what happens when they click “buy,” how you’ll use their data, and why you’re showing them certain products. You can no longer hide behind “Terms and Conditions” written in legal jargon. You must ensure that information about how your service works—such as how you handle abandoned carts or newsletters—is clear even to a young audience. The European Commission has published guidelines that explain exactly what platforms must do to protect children and adolescents. The key point is that risk assessment is no longer optional.

Why Risk Assessment Has Become Essential

The DSA requires an assessment of how your service might affect minors. For an e-commerce business, this means asking yourself an uncomfortable but necessary question: Does my site expose children to inappropriate content or overly aggressive purchasing processes? You must ensure that your service assesses how easy it is for a child to understand how the site works and how exposed they are to potentially harmful content. If you sell products that might appeal to a young audience, the checkout process must be transparent, and the data collected must be limited to the bare minimum. This isn’t just a legal matter for its own sake—it’s about reputation. A parent who trusts you will buy from you again. One who feels deceived will leave you a negative review and never return.

How to Communicate Clearly with Parents and Young Customers

Transparency is your best ally. If a customer or parent writes to you asking for clarification, respond promptly and with empathy. You don’t need a legal department—you need someone who responds with empathy, explaining what you do and why. Set up a customer support system that doesn’t waste your time. If you handle these requests on WhatsApp, email, and live chat without a system, you’ll end up chasing conversations instead of resolving them. Here, a tool like Leader24 can help you centralize communications, responding quickly to questions without having to switch back and forth between windows.

What are the key principles to adopt right away

The G7 has defined common principles for a safer digital space. For your e-commerce business, this translates into three actions. Protect data by collecting only what’s necessary, without forms that have too many required fields. Design your site to be easy to navigate, so that even a teenager can immediately understand where they’re clicking and what that entails. Offer responsive customer support: if someone has concerns about security, you must respond quickly and clearly. You don’t need expensive consulting. Just take a fresh look at your processes.

What to Do If You Receive a Report from a Parent

Don’t ignore it. A report handled well turns a tense moment into an opportunity to show that your brand is trustworthy. Immediately create a dedicated “Privacy and Security” FAQ section on your website. Explain what you’re doing to protect visitors, using simple language. If the answer isn’t in the FAQs, use live chat to resolve the concern in real time. A quick response is often more important than the perfect answer.

The First Step to Take Today

Don’t try to change everything in a single day. Conduct a “usability test” on your site by pretending to be an inexperienced user. Check that your privacy policies are written in simple language. If a 14-year-old reads your privacy policy, will they understand it? If you realize that handling customer inquiries is taking up too much of your time, consider integrating a support system that allows you to be available when needed, ensuring that no one is left without a clear answer.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the risks if

I don’t comply with the DSA on my e-commerce site? The DSA imposes fines that can amount to a significant percentage of annual revenue. But the most immediate risk is reputational: a parent who publicly reports a child safety issue can damage trust in your brand much more quickly than a fine.

Do I need to appoint a child safety officer?

It is not mandatory for small businesses, but it is advisable to designate an in-house person to monitor DSA obligations. You don’t need a lawyer—just someone who stays up to date every six months and verifies that procedures are being followed.

Does the DSA apply only to large marketplaces?

No. It applies to all online platforms operating in the European Union, including small and medium-sized businesses. The difference is that for smaller platforms, the obligations are proportionate to their size and the risks involved. But they do exist, and ignoring them isn’t a strategy. Start with one simple step: open your privacy policy and rewrite it as if you were explaining it to a 14-year-old. If you can do that, you’ve already taken the most important step.

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