Today, a third of internet users are children. The internet is also an environment that is rich with content that is inappropriate for children and is increasingly offering goods and services that would be age restricted offline. At its nadir, the internet can be a conduit for the very worst of society to gain access to children. Age assurance is rapidly becoming a defining issue for the future of the internet. How consumers access content and how service providers will monetize these consumers is at an inflection point. We are on the cusp of building ecosystems that will enable digital identity to become a significant enabler of high value digital services. However, for the internet to evolve further, it must develop mechanisms for ensuring that children are safe online.
The internet celebrates its birthday
Pornography plays a role in the popularization of the internet. Although the USENET newsgroup protocol was initially text-only, the introduction of 8-bit values in ASCII text enables the upload and sharing of images.
The U.N. adopts the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the most widely ratified human rights treaty and historic commitment to the world’s children
e-Commerce gains popularity. Amazon.com and eBay are founded
By 1995, Time Magazine reports that 84% of images on USENET are pornographic
U.S. enacts the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA) to protect children’s privacy and safety online, including restrictions on marketing to those under 13
U.S. passes the Communications Decency Act of 1996 to regulate pornographic material on the internet. The law criminalizes the transmission of obscene content to persons under 18.
U.S. passes the Family Smoking Prevention & Tobacco Control Act to regulate the marketing and sale of tobacco to young people across state lines
Social networking site, Xanga.com, is fined $1MM for allowing children under 13 to sign up for services without parental consent
U.S. FTC approves face match to verified photo identification (FMVPI) as an additional method for obtaining verifiable parental consent
U.S. amends COPPA to include additional parental consent requirements for “persistent identifiers” incorporates data retention and deletion requirements for any websites directed towards children under 13
The U.K. becomes the first country to pass a legal mandate for robust age verification. The Digital Economy Act of 2017 requires online porn operators to block minors from accessing their site
Singaporean mobile advertising network, InMobi, settles charges for tracking geo-location of children without parental consent
The E.U. extends the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) raises the bar of online content moderation to protect minors from inappropriate on-demand content on video sharing platforms (VSPs)
The E.U. passes the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which introduces sweeping privacy legislation including parental consent requirements for children 13-16 (depending on local Member State nuances)
YouTube is fined $170MM for tracking viewing history of minors to facilitate targeted advertising
ByteDance is fined $5.7MM for illegally collecting personal information from children; TikTok rolls out a kids-only mode to its app
YouTube implements AI moderation to auto-restrict sensitive content and adds age gates with valid credit card or ID for 18+ audiences
France follows the U.K.’s lead and introduces nationwide age verification requirements for pornography websites
U.K. government raises the gambling age to 18 and reviews its Gambling Act to fit the digital age
The China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association (CADPA) introduces age-based rating systems for online gaming; gaming company Tencent introduces facial recognition as additional age assurance
E-cigarette company Juul Labs settles its first state lawsuit for $40MM that alleged it sold and marketed its products to underage teens
U.S. introduces CTOPPA, which broadens COPPA and requires consent to collect personal information for users 13-15
The UK’s Age Appropriate Design Code (AADC) extends a higher bar of data protection to all online services ‘likely to be accessed’ by users under the age of 18
South Korea ends its controversial Shutdown Law which bans underage players from gaming between midnight and 6AM
Facebook halts plans to roll-out a kid’s Instagram, amid pressure from lawmakers and parents groups
China publishes national 10-year guidelines with new children’s information and privacy protections across gaming, live streaming, social media, and online services
Australia’s federal government begins age verification trials for the online purchase of alcohol; pilots across additional use cases are scheduled through 2022
The U.K.’s AADC, which focuses on youth under 18, is enforced, following a 12-month implementation period
The Online Safety Bill is introduced to U.K. Parliament, marking a global milestone in the fight for a new digital age
French regulators threaten to block major porn sites for failing to introduce age verification systems
India introduces the Online Gaming Bill, which proposes the use of Aadhaar to restrict underage online gambling
Google announces users will need to verify age to watch some YouTube content or access some Google Play apps
The U.S. California Age-Appropriate Design Code moves to the Senate for consideration to limit online exposure under 18
Gen Z social livestreaming app, Yubo, rolls out live image capture technology to identify minors
U.S. Congress releases a draft of the American Data Privacy and Protection Act (ADPPA) that extends data and consent rights
Apple announces iOS16 will support digital identity wallets, which can be used for age verification
In the U.S., Instagram starts testing facial scan age verification in partnership with Yoti
