Trustworthy age assurance? A risk-based evaluation of available and upcoming age assurance technologies from a fundamental
rights perspective
Study, The Greens/EFA in the European Parliament, Brussels, (February 2024)Abstract
Children represent a substantial portion of internet users, which creates an imperative to create a safe and secure online environment. Harmful content, however, is easily accessible, with 19% of respondents to a recent survey admitting exposure to pornography before the age of 13, 14% reporting being threatened, and 45% reporting verbal abuse online. Most providers of adult-restricted online content rely on self-declaration of age without further validation, which has proven to be ineffective and easy to bypass. Consequently, governments are urging the implementation of robust online age assurance systems that prevent children from accessing adult-restricted content or other types of harmful content online. Legislation aimed at improving online child protection, e.g., GDPR, AVMSD, DSA and age-appropriate design codes, consider age assurance as a protective measure and support their implementation online.