Ready or not, the age is verified online

On July 25, the United Kingdom became one of the first countries to be widely carried out of age verification. The online safety law requires websites that host porn and other content that is considered “harmful” – including Reddit, Discord, GRINDR, X and Bluesky – to check that users are more than 18 years old. Early results were messy. While many services complied, some withdrew from the country instead of facing risks and expenses. Users deceived or overlooked VPNS. It is just a taste of issues that many other countries may face while launching their own systems, a position that has long warned privacy and security experts – without interest.

After a political batch of years to make the Internet safer for children, age verification began to leak into online spaces around the world. Located lawmakers in the United States, Europe, Australia and other places have passed the bases of ages, and the platforms began to comply. Possible methods of verification are similar to those in the United Kingdom. Platforms usually require users to either enter a payment card, download an identifier issued by the government, take a personal photo, or allow the platform to use their data (such as the account creation dates and user connections) to “estimate” their age. Most of them depend on third -party services: Blouse Uses web services for epic games; I wanted to work with Persona. And disagreement I was partnership with K-D.

The result is a variety of online services that deal with sensitive user information – “Privacy Nightmare”. “There is no unification of how to verify age.”

Some of the age verification platforms by wiping your data after a certain period of time, such as the seven days when Persona says it will keep the information used to verify your life on Reddit. But there is no guarantee that every service will do so, and there are still huge security risks offered How common Data violations have become. Last year, a security researcher found that AU10TIX – identity verification solution was used by Tiktok, Uber and X – left -handed information and photos of an open driver for several months, 404 media I mentioned.

“When you download your knowledge … you hand it over to a third party,” says Vinzki. “They will take their speech that they will delete or remove it after completing its use.”

Despite these possible pitfalls, governments are moving towards the future of the Internet through operations anyway. In addition to a campaign campaign in the United Kingdom, the European Union is heading towards a wide range of digital identity, Australia search engines in ageAnd users in many American states need identifiers to access porn sites.

Age has been looked at a long time as unconstitutional in the United States, but the Supreme Court turned against that previous Earlier in 2025In conclusion, “adults do not have the right to first amend to avoid age verification” if it is supposed to protect users under the legal age from “obscene” content. Several states, including Alabama, Idahu, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina and Texas, have implemented laws that require verification measures on adult sites. Some have tried to expand this to social media or application stores as a whole, but so far, they have failed – a lawsuit submitted by Netchoice, a group of technology supported by Google, Meta, X, Amazon, Discord and other technology giants. Californiaand Arkanasaand Georgiaand OhioAnd Florida.

As in the United Kingdom, there is no guarantee against the private violations and security of the states that have age verification laws, and there is a little measurement in these rules. Efforts in the United States coincide with Using government digital monitoring and Advertising attempts Expression of LGBTQ sexual life, such as clouds, such as obscene, raises the risk of delivering personal data further.

Not all of the age verification efforts pledge the privacy of users with third -party services with a group of different methods. The European Union does not only experiment with the requirements of age breaks, but also the government -run digital identifiers. I started testing the initial model of the age verification system Designer “for the gap” Before the arrival of the digital identity by the end of next year. The solution will allow users to download their passport or government identity card to a system created by the government, which then generates “evidence of the age certificate” that is passed to the sites. The sites can also Use the customer definition methods It operates by banks and mobile phone carriers. The goal is that users can download sensitive information to one system that can be kept according to high and simple special standards for the sites that must be used.

Although there is a central solution to verify age, it may prevent users from having to pass their information through multiple verification services, many questions remain with regard to monitoring and easy access. Regardless of the permanent possibility of data violations, digital identifiers may also restrict individuals who are not documented from access to online content. Without appropriate protection, digital identity systems may still be “phone” for the source of the identifier when checking the user’s age, which may allow providers to track online activity.

Alexis Hancock, Director of Engineering at the Electronic Border Corporation (EFF) says:

Under the line, the European Union says it plans to enhance the frame with technology called zero knowledge (ZKP). This encryption verification method allows the service to prove that there is something right or wrong without revealing any additional information, such as Select EFF. This means that the application can verify that the user is over 18 years old without revealing his careful birth date. Google already has ZKP system built In Google’s portfolio and has since then Open source technologyWhich encourages the European Union members to adopt it.

Even with the ZKP, Hancock says there are still concerns about sites and applications that can request information about the user’s age. “I haven’t seen anything promising remotely at the present time actually standing out in verification in particular,” says Hancock. “There are not much scope restrictions on who can actually request this, and if it is needed in some cases.”

The legislators and organizers have argued that there are tremendous benefits to protect children from harmful content or exploitative social media platforms. Melanie Dos, the CEO of Offes, the UK Communication Regulatory, has boasted that “giving priority to clicks and participation on children’s safety online will not be tolerated in the United Kingdom,” and American lawmakers and organizers announced that porn and social media for the public health crisis. Senator Katie Brett said in the future of America and the future of America advertisement around Children outside the law of social media.

While maintaining children’s peace on the Internet is important, these messages reduce the effects or ignore the effects of ripple. Currently, there is no clear way to verify a person’s age via the Internet without risking the leakage of personal information or hindering access to the Internet. Until legislators stop and think about the largest image, everyone will be in danger.