This 2021 UNICEF discussion paper examines how age assurance and age verification tools can be used to protect children online, while also considering the potential impact of these tools on children’s broader rights. It reviews different age assurance methods, their strengths and limitations, and their possible use in relation to risks such as harmful content, grooming, gambling, online gaming, social media and child sexual abuse material. It also discusses privacy concerns, safety-by-design, parental controls, education and other alternatives or complements to age assurance, and proposes principles for developing and using such tools in a child-rights-respecting way.
This 2021 UNICEF discussion paper examines how age assurance and age verification tools can be used to protect children online, while also considering the potential impact of these tools on children’s broader rights. It reviews different age assurance methods, their strengths and limitations, and their possible use in relation to risks such as harmful content, grooming, gambling, online gaming, social media and child sexual abuse material. It also discusses privacy concerns, safety-by-design, parental controls, education and other alternatives or complements to age assurance, and proposes principles for developing and using such tools in a child-rights-respecting way.
- age assurance childrens-rights privacy