Yoti, GreenBadg expand age checks to free tier, adult site

Global regulators are increasing their attention to how minors access online content: From the UK’s Age Appropriate Design Code (AADC) and Online Safety Bill to the EU’s Digital Markets & Digital Services Acts and a raft of new legislation currently debated in states across the US.

Here is how global age verification companies such as Yoti and GreenBadg are answering the call for more age verification solutions.

Yoti offering age checks for free

Yoti, the UK-based identity verification provider that also provides age estimation for Meta to detect minors on its apps, is making its age checks free for businesses using its digital ID apps. The digital identity firm says it can offer these age checks for free, because businesses pay for other solutions, including right-to-work, know-your-customer (KYC) and identity verification checks.

The Yoti and EasyID apps allow users to verify their identity only once and use the app as proof of age without sharing additional personal information, such as name or address. The company’s digital IDs are currently used in the UK for right to work, DBS and right to rent checks while the UK Cinema Association also accepts the Yoti and EasyID apps as proof of age. The apps can also be used for the sale of lottery tickets, tobacco and energy drinks, the company said in a statement.

The London-based digital identity firm also works on Meta’s Instagram app. This month, the company announced a roll-out of its age estimation technology for Instagram to an additional 125 countries and territories.

“It’s quite a ‘pinch me’ moment to see that through the development of this technology,” says Yoti CEO Robin Tombs. “We’ve made great strides in achieving our vision to let anyone in the world prove who they are, simply by being themselves.”

Adult website adds GreenBadg age verification solution

Adult video website Dorcel is hooking up with French digital authentication provider GreenBadg to test a “double anonymity” age verification solution for accessing erotic content.

The experiment will last for one month with the Marseille-based tech company targeting approximately 10,000 visitors to Dorcel’s site, French news channel BFM reports. Dorcel has 6 millions subscribers in Europe, according to the company.

This double anonymity solution is based on a “trusted third party.” To access the adult content, users will have to register on GreenBadg by providing their ID and a video selfie but the verification itself will be conducted by an external service, in this case IDNow. Germany-based IDNow has recently received the first 30107 certificate in Europe for its video identity verifier assisted by human agents which helps with real-time customer onboarding.

Jacky Lamraoui, founder of GreenBadg, told BFM that the solution was built in cooperation with the authorities, including French media regulator Arcom.

Since 2021, Arcom has issued notices against five platforms, including Pornhub, for disregarding a 2020 law requiring adult websites in France to prevent minors from accessing their content. The agency says that 30 percent of adult website visitors in 2022 were under the age of 18.

Article Topics

age verification  |  biometrics  |  GreenBadg  |  IDnow  |  Yoti