In our next blog considering the UK Government’s response to the 2022 IICSA recommendations we look at recommendation 20 which pertains specifically to the new and emerging risks posed to children by evolving technologies and internet access. 

Recommendation 20: More robust age-verification requirements for the use of online platforms and services. 

Recommendation 20 takes cognisance of the risks to children posed by ease of access to age-restricted online platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and adult content sites, without sufficient age verification. 

When Facebook was initially founded in 2004, age verification was a simple tick box exercise to confirm that you were the over 13. There was no authentication or verification required to confirm you were the age you were purporting to be, and underage access was easy with a click of the mouse. 

Now, platforms like Facebook, use photo identification combined with a contemporaneous ‘selfie’ to verify age and identity before access is given, although this is not foolproof nor a broadbrush approach across all platforms. 

The challenges facing such organisations in implementing robust age verification risks leaving children vulnerable to exploitation or harmful content in unregulated digital spaces as highlighted by IICSA. Their recommendations underscored that children under 13 are still able to access social media platforms with relative ease in many cases, and the urgent need for more robust age assurance measures.

The Government has completed a study exploring how age assurance tools can be strengthened – especially by improving access to datasets that enhance the accuracy of verifying young users’ ages. We are promised that the full findings of the study will be published shortly. 

While the Online Safety Act (OSA) already includes measures to safeguard children, the Government has pledged to keep a close eye on whether these are sufficient to prevent underage access. Ofcom can investigate, audit and issue fines for non-compliance with age restriction policies under the OSA, but the Government has noted that if platforms are found to be falling short in upholding minimum age requirements, further intervention may follow. It will be interesting to see in due course what the proposed further intervention will look like in practice, and whether that will be legislative.