Technology

Age Verification Solution – A Tool To Safeguard Minors

With the massive usage of tablets and smartphones, even toddlers can now access mobile applications. A survey on children’s social media usage between 2015 and 2019 found that by age 3 to 4, kids often view internet information unattended by an adult. Around 89 percent of the youngsters polled had a social media account by age  15. According to Shufti Pro News, 1 out of 3 internet users worldwide is under 18 years of age. A youngster creates a social media account for a variety of reasons, including conversing with friends, making new virtual acquaintances, or boosting popularity by posting photographs and videos. Most minors also have exposure to adult content at this age. So, sites that contain age-restricted content should use a proper age verification solution to protect minors from adult content.

Need for Age Verification

Customers in today’s digitally connected world can access and buy practically anything online, like alcohol, cigarettes, gaming, or gambling. In this developing consumer world, it is necessary to safeguard kids and keep items and services meant for adults out of the reach of minors. When selling age-restricted goods or services, sophisticated identity and online age verification technologies exist to build online trust. These technologies enable companies to confirm that their consumers are who they say they are. As per Shufti Pro Funding, $20 million has been raised to grow identity and age verification procedures. Because of these measures, children will have a safer online environment that encourages adult choice while still protecting sensitive identifiable details.

Age Verification and Adult Entertainment

Digitalization undoubtedly offers many prospects for children’s self-development and growth. Unfortunately, it also makes kids more susceptible to online and offline violence. Younger individuals are online more with less adult supervision. This means that kids are more vulnerable to online risks and make poor decisions without fully understanding the repercussions of their actions. Exposure to improper material such as pornographic, sexual, and violent pictures is one of these concerns. Other possible concerns include websites carrying material about risky behaviors like suicide, self-harm, cyberbullying, and anorexia. The constant digital connection has rendered minors more exposed to predators through unguarded social media accounts and online gaming communities. These dangers make them even more vulnerable than before. Due to these potential risks, the implementation of a robust age verification system is critical for adult content websites.

Age Verification and Online Gaming and Gambling

Online Gaming

Online gaming could be challenging because people of all ages are available from around the world. Minors can be exploited via fraud, virtual wealth (such as loot boxes), or exposure to improper material. Online games frequently rely on an age rating that mandates a certain age to purchase the game rather than having robust verification systems.

Online Gambling

Casinos must follow strict verification procedures because they are highly regulated gambling establishments. This involves comparing an individual’s online identity to their data or their physical attributes to their official identity. There are several ways of determining the age, ranging from basic ID checks to deep data comparisons.

Betting on Sports

Sports betting is another platform that necessitates stringent gaming regulations. This entails identity verification, with onboarding procedures specifically scrutinizing online betting. The verification method matches user information to databases or even verifies people via live video.

Betting on E-sports

Esports betting is governed by the same laws and procedures as traditional sports betting.  The Know Your Customer Checks, or KYCC, service verifies users’ ages by comparing their information to public records. However, “skin gambling,’ or betting on in-game items, is also included in esports and is occasionally used to get around restrictions.

New VS Traditional Age Verification

Most websites use primitive “age gates,” which are just a checkbox or a request for the birth date. While this strategy offers little protection to children who visit such sites by accident or those who have a particular penchant for honesty. But it will do nothing at all to dissuade children from purposefully viewing adult material. Therefore, new AI-powered age verification methods are required to protect minors from adult content. Novel methods use age checks like ID document verification, biometric verification, and online video verification to verify age. 

Conclusion

With the common use of smartphones and tablets, accessing the internet has become very easy for minors. Due to poor methods of age verification, minors can also access age-restricted things. These things include tobacco, alcohol, drugs, and other adult products. Moreover, easy access to adult entertainment is also a big issue for kids’ safety. They can easily watch sexual, self-harm, suicidal, and violent material without any hurdles. Traditional age gates were used to verify a person’s age, but they have become useless now. So, to protect minors from these potential dangers, strong online age verification techniques are urgently needed. These verification processes could include identity documents, biometrics, or other verification processes.

Related Articles

Check Also
Close
Back to top button