Age Verification and Age Gating: Resource Hub

Age Assurance Methods Explained

This blog also appears in our Age Verification Resource Hub: our one-stop shop for users seeking to understand what age-gating laws actually do, what’s at stake, how to protect yourself, and why EFF

Who Really Sees Your ID When You Verify Your Age Online? - Intercede

We’re asked to prove our age online more than ever before. Whether we’re accessing social platforms, buying age‑restricted products, or visiting sites that require identity checks by law. Age verification has quickly become a standard part of the digital experience. But as these systems spread, so do the questions around what really happens to the … Continue reading ""

Age verification is coming for the internet — and it’s already raising red flags

Legislative efforts to age-gate parts of the internet are gaining traction. Some experts warn of compliance complications and data security breaches.

Who’s Harmed by Age Verification Mandates?

Age-verification laws may sound straightforward to some: protect young people online by making everyone prove their age. But in reality, these mandates force users into one of two flawed

Online age-verification tools spread across U.S. for child safety, but adults are being surveilled

New age-verification laws and tools are designed for child safety on social media and the internet, but adults are in the crosshairs, say privacy experts.

Online Age Verification: Government Legislation, Supplier Responsibilization, and Public Perceptions

There are widespread concerns about the online harms to children operating online. As such, governments have enacted laws to require online service providers to deploy age verification to prevent such harms. We investigate the following three research questions regarding this topic: (1) To what extent have different governments legislated age verification controls? (2) Do governments embrace a responsibilization strategy when it comes to online age verification? and (3) How does the UK public feel about online age verification legislation? We find that governments are applying a responsibilization strategy, which has led to widespread deployment of privacy-invasive or ineffective age verification. The former violates the privacy of underage users, with the latter undermining the overarching aims of the legislation. We have also found general disengagement and a lack of trust in the government amongst the public with regards to new online age verification laws within the UK. To conclude, despite governments globally looking to put more robust online age verification mechanisms in place, there remains a general lack of privacy preservation and affordable technological solutions. Moreover, the overarching aims of the online safety and age verification legislative changes may not be satisfied due to the general public stakeholder group's disengagement and lack of trust in their government.

Age Verification Mandates Would Undermine Anonymity Online

Age verification systems are surveillance systems. Mandatory age verification, and with it, mandatory identity verification, is the wrong approach to protecting young people online. It would force

The Dangers of Age Verification Provisions

One proposed solution to ensuring safe youth online experiences is age verification provisions, which require platforms to confirm the ages

Age Verification Bills – Action Center

In 2022, Louisiana passed a law requiring the use of age verification on websites that contain a “substantial portion” (33.33%) of adult content. Websites must utilize commercial age verification systems that check a user’s government identification or “public or private transactional data” to confirm that a user is at least 18 years old.

European Age Verification Solution

The European Commission is developing a harmonized, EU-wide approach to age verification, accompanied by a comprehensive age verification blueprint that is intended to facilitate practical adoption across all Member States and can be customised to the national context. Built upon the robust European Digital Identity Wallet framework, this user-friendly and privacy-preserving age verification solution enables individuals to demonstrate their eligibility for age-restricted online services, such as those restricted to adults, without disclosing more personal information than absolutely necessary. By design, the solution addresses and supports compliance with Article 28 of the Digital Services Act, helping online service providers meet legal requirements for age checks while safeguarding user privacy.

Online age verification systems fail to protect children | Proton

Do online age verification systems improve child safety? See how age restrictions and age checks fall short, and what that means for privacy and protection.

The Digital Loophole: 11th International Conference on Information Systems Security and Privacy, ICISSP 2025

Social media platforms are an integral part of daily life for nearly five billion people worldwide. However, the growing presence of underage users on these platforms raises significant concerns regarding children’s exposure to harmful content and its impact on their mental health. This paper examines the effectiveness of age verification measures implemented on leading platforms Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and X. We evaluate the age verification processes required for account creation by simulating the registration steps for minors on these platforms. We also compare these methods to best practices in online age assurance in finance, betting and public transportation sectors. IEEE provides a standard for evaluating the age assurance of a platform or service. Our study benchmarks each platform’s approach against the IEEE standard for robustness. Our research identifies gaps that allow underage users to easily bypass existing age restrictions, with particular practices such as allowing disposable emails and basic browser refreshes further weakening self-declared age checks. The findings highlight the need for more robust age verification measures by social media applications to support their stated age limit policies. This work emphasises the urgent need for stronger and more reliable age verification methods to align the digital age of consent across EU member states and beyond with the minimum age requirements on social media.

The Age-Verification Trap

Platforms are caught in a dilemma: enforce age restrictions or protect user privacy. How are they navigating this tricky terrain?

Teen and Parent Perspectives on Approaches to Age Verification

Age verification (AV) is being rolled out by online services to comply with new laws in Europe and across states in the United States. Proposed legislation at the federal level in the U.S., such as the Kids Off Social Media Act and the Kids Online Safety Act, may also result in increased adoption of AV […]

Age verification: Child protection or privacy risk?

With more platforms and governments asking for age verification, we look at the options and the implications.