The head of popular messaging app Telegram says the European Union’s age verification app (designed to protect children online) can be hacked within ‘two minutes’.

In a post on social media platform X, he said the EU age verification app was fundamentally flawed and could be hacked.

He said it was too soon to laugh at the EU bureaucrats. They needed an excuse to take away users’ freedoms and they got the ‘flaw’.

The European Commission announced a new age verification app last week, claiming it would ‘hold online platforms accountable’ and prioritise child protection over commercial interests.