Age Verification Online What is at Stake?
When it comes to technology, it’s often children who educate their parents. Today, before a child starts going to school, he/she knows how to operate a smartphone. As young as 9 and 10 year old children have self-managed YouTube accounts and call themselves content creators.
The ongoing pandemic took learning online and many children have been attending classes online for almost a full year now. The internet is a great tool to help children learn and find new ways to express themselves but it is also a threat to their innocence.
There will be many situations where children access the internet unsupervised and hence they need to be protected from consuming unsuitable content. Age verification is one of the most basic measures adopted by websites. But, is this really the best way?
First, Is Age Verification Needed And When?
Age verification is not always a prerequisite. For example, when it comes to websites offering educational information, age verification is not a priority. Age verification becomes important in industries like the e-gaming sector, gambling websites, dating websites, websites that sell alcohol and tobacco products, pharmaceutical websites, pornographic websites, etc.
When it comes to these industries, age verification not only protects the minors but also helps brands comply with cyber regulations. Online platforms that sell products to minors can face serious legal trouble. In addition, it builds an image of a responsible company and thus helps them develop a good reputation.
Age Verification Systems Can Be Easily Bypassed
One way for websites to check that minors do not visit their website is to ask them to enter their date of birth. The website then calculates the visitor’s age and allows or does not allow them to visit the site on the basis of their age.
There are many alcohol websites that follow this practice. However, there’s no guarantee that minors will enter their date of birth honestly. Fudging the year is the easiest way for them to bypass this system. No matter what system adults devise, minors can find a way around it.
Today, even if parents install a child lock to certain sites, children can bypass the technicalities with a Virtual Private Network (VPN). Thus, all types of age verification systems raise questions on their efficacy and till now, none has been designed that can claim to be 100% reliable.
Personal Data Becomes Accessible
How else does a person prove their age? By sharing some form of personal identification that can be verified against governmental databases. Many age-limited platforms ask visitors to share a copy of their ID documents or share biometric information.
This data is then verified against the information stored in the third-party databases. Thus, age verification systems also raise questions on accessibility to personal data. Collecting this information makes the company responsible for it. They must then install safeguards to keep it protected and safe from misuse.
Added Processing Time
Age verification adds a step to the online experience. With such a system even mature adults must wait while their age can be verified before they can visit a website, make purchases or participate in online games. Given our need for instant gratification, this can be frustrating and affect the company’s conversion rate. Adults who do not want to share this information may choose to visit a competitor site and the company may lose out on loyal customers.
Added Charges
Another way for websites to verify age is by payment card verification. This is often used by gambling and e-commerce websites. However, many minors use their parent’s debit or credit cards on these websites. Thus, the algorithm may not accurately identify the site visitor as a minor
Later, if the parents make a reversal request because of a non-consenting transaction, the business may have to pay back high charge back fees. This affects their bottom line as well as their brand image.
The Need for Broader Protection
A good age verification tool has the potential to do a lot. It can reduce e-commerce fraud, protect minors and help online entrepreneurs avoid inconveniences like charge backs. But, no matter how good it is, an age verification system cannot work in isolation. Not only is it possible for all such systems to be circumvented, but their implementation is also difficult.
The responsibility of protecting minors from unsuitable content must be shared by parents, the media, internet service providers and the websites publishing such content. Today, facial recognition and fingerprinting technology are making inroads into improving this process.
Regulatory organizations need to audit websites and make content platforms more transparent in terms of the type of content published. There is also a need to gain a better understanding of how children use the internet. Only if this is done can regulatory frameworks be designed to effectively protect minors.
There will be many situations where children access the internet unsupervised and hence they need to be protected from consuming unsuitable content. Age verification is one of the most basic measures adopted by websites. But, is this really the best way?
