Age Verification in the Web -- Holy Grail to Control Access to Restricted Content
For regulators and online platforms, this work addresses the practical challenge of implementing age verification that balances privacy, security, and usability, though the proposal is conceptual and not empirically validated.
The paper analyzes current and proposed age verification solutions for restricting minors' access to harmful online content, identifying weaknesses such as privacy risks and lack of user trust. It proposes an alternative using open standards like Privacy Pass and cryptographic techniques to enable secure, privacy-preserving age verification without specialized software.
Age verification before accessing restricted content is critical to protecting minors from exposure to harmful material such as pornography, gambling, violence, hateful speech, and substance purchases like alcohol and tobacco. Currently, the absence of reliable age-checking mechanisms allows children extensive access to such adult content, posing significant risks to their worldview and mental development. While regulatory efforts like the European Union's Digital Services Act promote using Digital Wallets or Age Verification Apps, relying solely on government-based solutions raises concerns about data sensitivity and privacy risks. Effective age verification must therefore be trustworthy, user-friendly, privacy-preserving, and offer flexible assurance levels. We analyze currently implemented (UK or Australia) and proposed (UE) solutions from different angles, pointing out the weaknesses and threats, and come up with an alternative. Our proposal addresses these challenges by leveraging open standards - such as Privacy Pass and Privacy Access Tokens - and cryptographic techniques to enable secure, privacy-conscious age verification without requiring specialized software installation. This approach empowers users to select trusted providers from multiple options, reducing the risk of data breaches and ensuring a safer digital environment for minors.