Industry Groups Note Age Estimation’s Role in Privacy Compliance
Age-estimation technology and its role in reducing regulatory burden is gaining attention in industry and data privacy circles, an official with BBB National Programs said Friday.
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BBB National Programs is a nonprofit that counsels companies and industry groups on self-regulation. Its Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) advises partners on the FTC’s Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act rule. National partners include T-Mobile, McDonald’s, Interactive Advertising Bureau, ReedSmith, DLA Piper, Manatt, BakerHostetler, Meta, Google, the Walt Disney Co. and the Association of National Advertisers.
How companies handle biometric data will be key for complying with the FTC’s updated rules for the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Annual reporting and notice requirements for the safe harbor program took effect in June, but companies have until April to come into compliance with most of the changes (see 2506230049). One key change is that the FTC expanded the definition of “personal information” to include biometric identifiers like voiceprints, facial templates and faceprints.
CARU Director Rukiya Bonner, in an interview Friday, noted an announcement from Roblox Wednesday to expand its use of age-estimation tools. Age-estimation technology can be used to approximate a person’s age without identifying them, so collection of personal information and associated regulatory burdens can be avoided, said Bonner. This compares to the use of facial recognition technology, which relies on the collection of sensitive personal information to identify individuals, she noted.
This is “new territory for companies and brands,” she said.
Roblox’s announcement comes weeks after Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill (R) filed a lawsuit against the company, alleging it facilitates the distribution of child sexual abuse material and is in potential violation of federal child privacy statutes (see 2508140051).
Bonner noted age-estimation technology can be used as a tool to help prevent adult users from interacting with children. The organization plans to discuss the technology, child safety issues and collective solutions at its next quarterly meeting, she said.
Cobun Zweifel-Keegan, managing director for IAPP in Washington, D.C., in a post Friday mentioned a shifting “global conversation” surrounding age assurance. For instance, the FTC “appears to have taken note” with its Tuesday announcement of a $10 million COPPA settlement with Disney (see 2509020069), he said. Zweifel-Keegan noted how FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson in his statement said the settlement “makes room for the future of protecting kids online -- age assurance technology.”
Roblox in its announcement said the expansion of age-estimation technology is “part of our long-term vision as a platform for all ages. We expect that our approach to communication safety will become best practice for other online platforms, whether lawmakers pass laws requiring age verification for all platforms in the future or not.”
Bonner noted how companies in the EU are increasingly relying on age-estimation technology. European Digital Rights, an organization led by nonprofits, consumer advocates and academics, in a post Tuesday flagged this growing trend.