Online safeguarding of minors vs. potential loss of anonymity?
In the digital age, the debate surrounding online age verification has gained significant traction. This article explores the various facets of this issue, including the proposed solutions, controversies, and concerns raised by experts.
The French data protection authority, CNIL, has recommended a novel approach known as double anonymity. In this system, a trusted third party would act as an intermediary between a site and a visitor, providing proof of majority in the form of a cryptographic key without sharing personal data with the visited site. However, the implementation of double anonymity faces technical challenges and hasn't been deployed yet.
Political issues also arise, particularly in countries where the LGBT community prefers a private third-party verifier due to state scrutiny and rights restrictions, such as in Hungary. Antoine Gaume, a cybersecurity expert, estimates that such surveillance is not in the interest of the Ministry of the Interior as it would hinder the adoption of age verification services.
The issue of online age verification is not limited to France; similar measures are being pushed at the European level by the Digital Services Act. Private companies like Equifax, WebID, IDnow, and Worldcoin are already offering online identity verification services, potentially to be used as verifiers in double-anonymization implementations.
Michael Stora, a digital rights advocate, emphasizes the need for education as a response to the issue. He advocates for modernized sex education and digital literacy programs to equip individuals with the knowledge necessary to navigate the digital landscape safely and responsibly.
Stéphane Bortzmeyer, a network engineer and author, raises concerns about the normalization of identity verification practices online and the potential for traceable keys to lead to surveillance of online activity. He believes that online laws can reveal older fractures and may be associated with an authoritarian state if applied in the real world.
The objective of protecting minors online is legitimate, but raises questions about the balance between security and privacy. The potential public reluctance to use third-party verifiers could be due to stigmatization associated with their use on sites like pornography or betting.
The multiplication of private and public actors also raises questions about the standardization of processes and their control, particularly in the absence of international norms. Vincent Toubiana, head of the Digital Innovation Laboratory at the CNIL, suggests offering internet users the choice between public and private actors for age verification to foster trust.
In France, the Pornhub website has refused to comply with the SREN law, which aims to Secure and Regulate the Digital Space by requiring pornographic sites to have age verification tools. Meanwhile, Michael Stora highlights the importance of human moderation, particularly in removing suicidal content from social media platforms, as the government struggles to impose moderation on social networks.
In conclusion, the debate surrounding online age verification is multifaceted, involving technical, political, and ethical considerations. As the digital landscape continues to evolve, it is crucial to strike a balance between protecting minors and preserving privacy and individual freedoms.
