Lawmakers in several countries have decided that children online need verification, not promises. Platforms now face a choice: identity documents, face estimation, bank checks or third-party tokens. Each one either leaks data, excludes people or can be gamed.
The privacy-preserving option
Cryptographic age tokens issued by a trusted party can prove you are over a threshold without revealing who you are. Pilots are underway. The question is whether governments will accept a system that cannot identify the user.
Key takeaways
- Verification mandates are spreading internationally
- Each method has a privacy or exclusion cost
- Anonymous age tokens are in pilot
This story is part of our ongoing coverage of policy & privacy. We will update it as more details emerge.
