Note: I co-authored this piece with Iain Corby, Director at Age Verification Providers Association (AVPA).

Get ready; new and evolving personal data and identity management methods are causing a tsunami of change. In particular, two crucial areas driving change are the proper administration of the sale of age-restricted products and services and what businesses must do to responsibly and securely interact with children and other age-protected classes.

Do you have a view on how personal data and digital identity will evolve over the next 18-36 months, especially regarding age verification and age assurance? If you are working with and have insights into age verification and age assurance, we want to hear from you (message us on LinkedIn: Michael Becker and Iain Corby).

New Regulations and Technologies are Driving Change

Will big global platforms step into the market? Will users resist giving more personal data to the largest tech companies? Will they resist using a government-issued ID as they surf the net and interact with phygital experiences? Or will emerging people-centric approaches to identity and age verification and assurance lead the way?

The Age Verification Providers Association (AVPA) and Mobile Ecosystem Forum’s Personal Data & Identity (PD&I) Working Group proposition is that age will be at the vanguard for digital identities execution and adoption.

There are few legal reasons to need a digital identity today – but there is a wide range of new regulations and initiatives driving the need to have a digital proof of age – GDPR, the EU Audio-Visual Media Services Directive, advertising restrictions, the forthcoming EU Digital Services Act, UK Online Safety Bill, U.S. Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule, EU Electronic Identification and Trust Services (eIDAS 2.0) or the UK Digital ID and Attributes Trust Framework, as well as firmer enforcement of age-restricted online commerce.

The ability for businesses to prove the age of their customers, without their customers having to disclose their entire identity and complete age details, is going to be a ubiquitous business requirement for phygital commerce and online services.

A Call for Age Verification and Assurance Insights & White Paper Contributors

The MEF PD&I Working Group, in partnership with the AVPA, is drafting a white paper, tentatively titled “Is it rude to ask your age? Actually no. It is a legal requirement.” This landscape is being dramatically changed by new regulations, technology, business models, and growing consumer awareness around personal data & identity.

This white paper seeks to document the diverse views surrounding age verification and age assurance and to set a vision for the future in a crowded and fast-moving space. This effort is being led by the MEF’s PD&I Working Group. Iain Corby, Executive Director at AVPA is taking the lead on the project and is supported by Michael Becker, CEO of Identity Praxis and Chair of the MEF PD&I Working Group, and other working group members.

Our goal with this effort is to document the current state of the age verification and age assurances landscape and to educate business leaders on what they need to know and do to thrive in this new era of personal data and identity.

We are looking for contributions from business leaders, technologists, futurists, regulators, policy-makers, and academics. Specifically, we are looking for insights into age verification and age assurance,

• Use cases
• Technologies
• Customer journeys and experiences
• Business model impacts
• Challenges that businesses are facing in complying with changes to the landscape and their response
• Consumer opinion and adoption
• and more

MEF members are welcome to join in the effort and will be acknowledged as contributors to the paper, contact Michael Becker to get o the working group roster. Non-MEF members are welcome to contribute; their contributions will be included in the references if used.

If you have something to contribute, please get in touch with Iain Corby, Executive Director at AVPA, or Michael Becker via LinkedIn.

@Mobile Ecosystem Forum @Identity Praxis @Age Verification Providers Association #ageverification #ageassurance #identity #personaldata #ecommerce #regulation