According to The Newyork Times, online age verification is a daunting task, even for experts. There is an increasing need for online businesses to build a sound and robust system for users’ or buyer’s age verification. More recently, businesses have also been made legally bound, if not morally. The UK government passed a law on December 2018, which reserve the businesses and online services to apply age verification measures.
It isn’t that most of such websites do not put safeguards for age verification; most of them do as they are required to do so legally. However, in most cases, such safeguards are bypassed by clever underage visitors, determined to buy age-restricted products and services. The following are the ways how some online business sectors can use digital identity solutions to keep users’ identities safe and ensure age verification requirements are followed:
Online Gaming & Gambling:
Online gamers are increasingly using real currency to pay for in-game goods. Regulators allege these exchanges open up new pathways for criminals to commit digital fraud and launder money. In addition, it’s possible that online gaming could be damaging to young players, bringing up gambling addiction issues. These concerns are prompting regulators to go for identity and age verification in the online gaming world, but each game faces its own set of challenges during identity authentication.
Another solution is liveness detection, which requires players to be physically present during the verification process so they can submit photos, video playback to confirm their identities. Identity verification companies, such as AI identity solutions provider, Shufti Pro, are creating new solutions for this purpose.
Social Media:
Social media is under increased scrutiny. There have been reports in recent weeks that children having age of minimum eight are using dating apps.
While internet security is a moving paradigm, one thing that’s clear is a lot of the challenges associated with social media today are real challenges of identity. Verified digital identities and effective age verification can solve several challenges that hamper a safe social media experience, especially for our children and young people.
A digital identity company from the UK has been recently partnered by a social networking site Yubo, which is using their age estimation technology to flag any accounts where people appear to have misstated their age. In this regard, Yubo can be confident that individuals on their site are of the appropriate age; creating a safer platform. So digital identification can curb fake social media accounts.
Online Stores-Age Restricted Products:
The products which are age-restricted are delivered. Relying on the delivery person to verify the customer’s age comes with inherent risks. Like if the delivery guy got identity and age verification expertise?Can they be thorough in doing their due diligence on each and every customer that they deliver to? Is there a way to track the verification and authentication process?
For instance online alcohol sales grew tremendously in the past few years. In a recent string,it came to light that over 20% of underage people were able to buy it online through some app. So this surely can be stopped by using identity verification software. When someone orders anything, before checking out, the age and identity should be verified digitally to avoid forgery and limit the sales of such products to adults only.
Age Verification – A Legal Requirement
In a nutshell,whether you run an online gaming (gambling) service, or an online store selling eCigarettes, cannabis or alcohol online, conducting age verification is a legal requirement in jurisdictions that permit such online activities. Like identity verification procedures, age verification shouldn’t serve the purpose of regulatory compliance alone; it needs to be designed to deliver an optimal online experience that doesn’t hinder minors from entering age restricted sites.