2026 Age Assurance & Digital Age Credentials Market Report
Age assurance has rapidly evolved from a niche compliance requirement into one of the fastest-growing segments of digital identity. Governments…
Age Assurance
Biometric age assurance is any method of confirming a claim about the age of an individual by measuring their physical characteristics or actions. It includes age verification, which compares face biometrics from a reference image on an identity document to a facial photo or selfie, and age estimation, which analyzes the facial features in a photo to estimate a person’s age, typically within a given range. It also includes other methods that utilize voice or gesture.
Age assurance explained: The laws reshaping the internet
A year ago, age assurance was a niche topic and the biometrics industry was still anticipating the effect that the…
Australia expands eSafety powers, doubles penalties in platform accountability push
Australia’s parliament has formally passed the Online Safety Amendment (Strengthening Enforcement for the Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2026, granting…
Philippines pushes platform accountability, seeks ASEAN backing for tougher social media rules
The Philippines is getting tougher on social media platforms and called attention to the backlash that Meta in particular has…
South Africa rejects blanket social media age verification for under-16s
South Africa’s Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Solly Malatsi, has told parliament that the government is not pursuing any…
Australia shifts online safety debate from age checks to platform accountability
The first country to put age checks on social media sites is now the first to propose a digital duty…
Irish regulator opens investigation into X’s age assurance, parental controls
Irish regulator Coimisiún na Meán has launched its first investigation under Ireland’s Online Safety Code. The target is X, the…
Device-level child safety controls to be legislated in UK as deadline expires
The UK government will introduce primary legislation requiring major tech platforms to build device level protections for children that will…
Microsoft launches Age API, following OS-level declared age range model
Whether because of its age, its product focus or its relatively anemic branding, Microsoft has not caught much public scrutiny…
IEEE developing parental consent standard for online age assurance
Talking about age assurance means talking about parental consent. Many continue to maintain that parents are the best arbiters of…
EU age assurance debate intensifies as Macron seeks bloc-wide social media law
French president Emmanuel Macron is calling on European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to support an EU-wide regulation putting…
Listen: How age assurance platforms earn trust
The world has more or less decided that some online services should be age-restricted. The question now is, how to…
