Age verification needs better privacy protections, report says

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New America’s Open Technology Institute called for the use of zero-knowledge proofs, which verify a user’s age without disclosing any personal information.

On the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court allowing a Texas law requiring users verify their ages before accessing porn websites, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has allowed a Mississippi law requiring that users verify their ages before accessing social media platforms to go into effect while the legal cases against it are pending.

Those laws, like many others, are designed by their sponsors to protect children from obscene content, but opponents say they violate users’ First Amendment rights and are an undue burden to access content.

But privacy concerns remain around age verification technology, even as it is popular in other countries. And in a bid to reduce some of those concerns, a new brief from think tank New America’s Open Technology Institute urged states to use zero-knowledge proofs to verify users’ ages and do so while protecting their privacy.

Zero-knowledge proofs verify a user’s data without disclosing any information other than whether that data is valid. It means the user can prove their information to the verifying party without revealing that information itself, just its validity.

“Many online age verification practices require people to share their personal data, which ultimately endangers that information,” Sarah Forland, policy analyst at OTI and the author of the brief, said in a statement. “The SCOTUS decision ignores the very real risks online age verification poses to individuals’ privacy and security online. With the court upholding Texas’ laws, states with similar statutes will likely move forward with requiring age verification for sexually explicit content. In light of these laws, if age verification must be done, exploring privacy-preserving technologies like zero-knowledge proofs can better protect users and their data.”

OTI said interest in zero-knowledge proofs is growing, including in the European Union through its EU Digital Identity framework and in its member countries with their own age verification laws. An age verification technology trial is also underway in Australia, which banned anyone under 16 from using social media.

But OTI said, despite this interest in age verification technology, it should not pave the way for governments to impose “broad” age verification mandates. While Texas uses an age verification mandate to restrict access to adult content, a number of states have used it to restrict access to social media platforms and have been challenged in court. Arkansas’ law has been struck down, while others have been allowed to stand.

And states have started to try to restrict other online activity. Several have passed legislation imposing age requirements on app stores, and OTI warned that age verification “should not be overused as part of a misguided effort to enable widespread age checks online,” even as it is proven that it can be done. Legislation restricting access to content on the basis of age “poses great risks to free, open, and anonymous web use,” the OTI brief added.

Instead, lawmakers should build out a policy framework to govern when age verification is used, and how users’ privacy and safety are protected. OTI said it is up to policymakers to determine what entities can and cannot request age verification; the roles different entities play in the age verification process and how they establish trust; the use of shared standards and protocols; and built-in protections for users.

OTI recommended that age verification requirements be “narrowly tailored” to avoid burdens on constitutionally protected speech online. The recent Supreme Court decision should not be taken as a “blanket endorsement” of age verification across the internet, the group said. OTI also called on age verification technology to use “best-in-class” privacy protecting techniques, and that any age verification mandates be applied in the least restrictive manner possible.

To that end, OTI said age verification should only be required for age-restricted content, and be done at the service level.

“Websites and apps, which may host age-restricted content, are in the best position to determine when age verification is truly necessary,” the brief says. “Age verification should not take place at the app store and device level because doing so subjects all users, regardless of the content they are trying to access, to unnecessary data-sharing requirements.”

OTI also said users should have a choice of how to verify their age and with whom, and that all solutions should prioritize that user choice and data security.

It will take a lot of work, Forland said, but it will be necessary to ensure that Americans’ data is protected.

“To safeguard Americans against data privacy and security risks, we need technical, policy, and industry stakeholders to work together to develop and properly implement privacy-preserving techniques,” she said.

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