Government restrictions go far beyond what is necessary to keep children from using products and services that are only available to people of a certain age. However, the risk of legal repercussions exists for businesses that fail to take any action to limit access to children. Neglecting age verification methods can lead to severe penalties, business fines for the company, and reputational damage. Therefore, whether or not they conduct financial transactions, all businesses must manage their operations to guarantee that only adults can use particular services and products.
Businesses started looking for more sophisticated identity verification techniques to improve performance when they encountered significant difficulties adhering to changing age verification regulations. Due to the numerous shortcomings of simple verification methods, businesses are shifting to online age verification.
Age Verification Solution – Why is It Necessary for Minor Protection?
Due to technological progress, young people can now easily enter the digital world. Regretfully, youngsters are not aware of the dangers involved in signing up for accounts on adult websites. Fraudsters might get their information and use it to deceive them. Minors are defenseless whether or not their parents are watching over them. Thus, it is crucial to prevent children from using age-restricted services. Without proper age checks, kids are most often exploited by drugs, alcohol, adult content, and tobacco.
Additionally, social media platforms provide a few minimal safeguards to guarantee that a person is of legal age. However, children can get around a simple checkbox to confirm age. Thus, when they register for social media accounts, fraudsters can access underage people’s accounts, giving them access to personal information. Usually, they use this data to intimidate children into providing them with credentials of their parents’ credit or debit cards. Then they use the credentials to log into the accounts, take gift card purchases, or make cash payments.
The absence of age verification tools on digital sites has many drawbacks, including the misuse of goods and services not intended for children. Businesses encounter risky situations as a result of minors having access to age-restricted goods and services, which simply violate COPPA regulations.
The GDPR mandates that all European governments make sure that no company sells the personal information of children outside of Europe. BBC News claimed that TikTok has allegedly been sued for improperly handling children’s data. Strict laws must be upheld in order to make sure that their basic rights are never, ever violated.
Uses of Online Age Verification Services
Age verification online has proven to be challenging for many industries, placing them in problematic situations. Now let’s examine these problems and their solutions:
Social Media Platforms
Each social media site has a unique approach to limiting child exposure. The shortcomings of this law require them to appear in court and pay significant fines. When people create profiles on social media sites, there is no actual age verification performed; only a checkbox is necessary. As a result, kids sign up for these platforms, and individuals with bad intentions steal personal information for their own gain. So, implementing the age verification system with proper KYCC regulation could protect minors in this situation.
E-commerce Industry
Organizations all over the world had to develop novel strategies for COVID-19 to deliver their products and services. Due to their online manufacturing, these products are available to everyone. Any kid could buy age-restricted items at any time. So, a proper identity verification solution could save minors and the e-commerce industry from hefty fines and penalties.
Tobacco and Alcohol E-stores
According to the FDA, it is illegal in the US to sell tobacco to anyone who is under 21. The FDA began a campaign in 2019 entitled “This Is Our Watch” to educate tobacco shops about the laws governing tobacco, adherence, and juvenile protection. The FDA launched “This Is Our Watch” campaign in 2019 to inform tobacco retailers about legislation governing tobacco, compliance, and child protection.
Regretfully, purchasing cigarettes online is still not a risky activity for young people under the age of 18. However, such difficulties can be reduced by implementing AI-powered age verification methods.
Conclusion
Regulators have made sufficient efforts to harmonize and improve age verification laws globally. COPPA frequently updates its regulations to ensure the best possible protection for kids. A set of regulations has been put in place to stop the violation of children’s rights. Businesses need to put age verification systems in place to stop kids from getting access to age-oriented products and services. It is due to making sure that they are following the law to avoid harsh penalties.
