Government authorities are protecting minors in various ways. They have deemed it as a mandatory check for all organizations. Not providing enough safety to minors can get businesses into a lot of trouble. This is why it is the responsibility of all institutes to regulate their workplace in a way that does not give access to age-restricted products.
Businesses have shifted to online platforms which give minors easy access. But through online age verification solutions, businesses can ensure to keep minors out. Let’s look at how age verification secures different industries.
Types Of Problems Minors Face Without Age Verification Solutions
Technological advancements have paved the way for minors to access the digital world effortlessly. The parents are usually unaware of what the children are doing behind their backs. The children are vulnerable and can be exploited by cybercriminals and their identities can be hacked. They blackmail these minors and gain illegal access.
This is why age verification solutions are necessary by all online businesses to ensure that minors do not access platforms not designed for them. Unfortunately, the only age checks majority of the websites have is a simple check which can be breached by anyone.
In Europe, the GDPR has a section that states to ensure no child’s data is leaked out of the continent. According to BBC news, the famous content-creating platform TikTok was sued when minors’ data was mishandled. This is why stringent regulations must be followed by all industries to make sure that the rights of children are not violated.
Age Verification Solutions In Different Industries
Every industry has to face different types of challenges when it comes to age verification. Age verification solutions can provide solutions to all these industries therefore let’s look at the problem and the solution through online age verification solutions.
Social media platforms
Social media platforms are numerous and all have different strategies to protect minors from being violated. But even after these policies, they have been a subject of fines and court orders. This is obviously because these systems are prone to errors. When making an account on social media, it only verifies age through a check rather than verifying the face. Such systems can be bypassed easily. People with bad intentions can hack or steal minors’ details and either blackmail them into providing information or use their identities for their own benefit.
A popular movie called Home alone showed how the child got into the wrong plane and had access to the father’s credit card. He used the card to access the hotel and amenities while the parents were worried. It also showed the child had robbers following him to gain their own benefit.
Such examples can also happen in real life and can be avoided through age verification solutions.
E-commerce
Online shopping picked hype when the world went into lockdown and nothing was accessible. The covid-19 pandemic made people shop online and these platforms were also accessible by minors. All these e-commerce websites can have age-restricted products but none of them has age verification solutions. Children can purchase these products and get themselves into trouble. Additionally, some children buy products and do not tell their parents. Their parents then claim the chargeback from those businesses and leave the business with a loss.
Online gaming and gambling
Online gaming and gambling also picked hype in covid-19 when individuals were confined to their homes. Gambling by law is not allowed for any individual under 21 years or 18 years, depending on the country. This is why it is essential for gaming businesses to adopt online age verification solutions.
Tobacco E-stores
According to FDA, the selling of tobacco under the age of 21 is illegal in the United States Of America. In November 2019, FDA launched a “ This Is Our Watch” program through which tobacco retailers can better understand tobacco regulations, their compliance, and the protection of its national youth. Buying tobacco through online platforms is not a difficult task for individuals under the age of 21.
Age verification solutions ensure retailers spontaneously understand and determine age to legally sell tobacco products for an effective KYCC.
Conclusion
Furthermore, regulatory authorities have been working together to bring age verification regulations to all around the world. Child protection data, COPPA, and multiple other regulations have imposed hefty fines when violating these rules whether deliberately or unconsciously.
