Titans of content write ‘I love mom’ report about age verification challenges

A little-known group of very big names in online content has some thoughts about age verification, biometrics-based and otherwise. But its membership rolls casts doubt on how far the group will go to segregate online life, children from adults.

The 16-year-old Family Online Safety Institute, whose members are global, but most from the United States, published a policy paper last month that is as bland as the institute’s name. Its goal is help society in “Coming to Terms with Age Assurance.”

Few if any suggestions are made in the document. It’s all about discussing challenges and opportunities that are well-known in the industry and among regulators. There is a loop: transparency, children, privacy, safety, family, children….

Essentially, anything that anyone does to age-gate the internet will cost money that content makers do not want to spend, add friction to the lives of their customers, and according to some unprofitably compromise privacy while increasing liability.

So, institute members are focusing on the minimum effort that everyone is simultaneously required to make. Biometrics comes up once, with the observation that age verification must be distinguished from identification. Two sections are telling.

One two-page segment is titled, “What policymakers can do” and the next, half-page chapter is “considerations” for industry.

In fact, policymakers in developed economies are already moving, unevenly, on the issue.

Legislation requiring age assurance to see adult content is embedded in the United Kingdom’s Online Safety Bill and efforts in various U.S. states. And opponents say they are willing to compromise consumers’ privacy to make it work, according to reporting by the BBC.

They either are demonstrating uncommon fortitude, or they feel their electorates mostly feel the same urgency to segregate content.

All the while, digital ID software makers are feeding news cycles with research favorable to their revenue goals about how easy it is for a child to buy access to dangerous materials like weapons and, improbably, tanning beds.

That message is more likely to find an audience among some politicians than among titans of content.

Members of the institute include Amazon, TikTok, Mattel, Tencent, Google, Epic Games and Comcast.

Amazon’s name stands out not least for its CEO’s stance on corporate passivity in the face of potential complaints from consumers on a related topic, privacy.

Two years ago, Andy Jassy, who was still awaiting his anointing at the time, said if people feel wronged by what Amazon does with their biometric data, they can file a complaint online like everyone else. The company would weigh each note and act as it sees fit.

All of which is to say that anyone wanting actionable ideas on how best to protect children’s minds while greasing the skids for adults online will have to wait for another institute note.

Article Topics

age verification  |  biometrics  |  children  |  digital identity  |  Family Online Safety Institute