ESRB proposes facial age estimation technology for parental consent
UPDATE 26/07 11:40am: In a statement shared with Eurogamer, the ESRB has clarified its proposed “Privacy-Protective Facial Age Estimation” technology is to be used to verify the age of people giving consent for a child.
“First and foremost, this application is not to authorise the use of this technology with children. Full stop. Nor does this software take and store ‘selfies’ of users or attempt to confirm the identity of users,” reads a statement to Eurogamer.
“Furthermore, this application makes no mention of using age estimation to prevent children from purchasing and/or downloading restrictively rated video games, nor do we intend to recommend its use in that way.”
It has further clarified that photos are not taken or stored, and that the software does not use facial recognition or attempt to identify anyone. “Any images and data used for this process are never stored, used for AI training, used for marketing, or shared with anyone,” the ESRB stated. “This is why we consider it to be a highly protective solution for [verifiable parental consent].”
The original story continues below.
ORIGINAL STORY 25/07 2.37pm: The Entertainment Software Rating Board has proposed a new verification mechanism which it says will ensure parental consent is properly obtained under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Rule (COPPA).
The board, which regulates age ratings for games in the US and Canada, has developed the mechanism with Yoti, a digital ID platform, and SuperAwesome, a company specialising in online child safety tools. SuperAwesome was acquired by Epic Games in 2020.
