Papers

Age assurance is a complex area with technology developing rapidly. This technical study on age assurance technologies, commissioned by the ICO and Ofcom, aims to enhance our understanding of this area and build on our commitment to developing an aligned approach to age assurance. This report follows on from an initial technical study into the measurement of age assurance technologies commissioned by the ICO (referred to as Part 1). It provides insight into measuring the accuracy levels achievable by different age assurance solutions, and prompts further thinking on how to measure their overall effectiveness.

The technical study also acknowledges certain limitations. In particular:

• As companies’ accuracy figures were self-declared, the study’s hypothetical indicators of confidence should be considered illustrative.
• Technical accuracy is only one dimension of age assurance systems, and the report does not cover many other aspects of the overall effectiveness of these technologies.
• Difficulties in acquiring adequate, independent data sets for testing age assurance technologies pose an additional challenge for measuring technical accuracy.

We will continue to work with key stakeholders to build robust evidence on age assurance technologies, so that we can act with children’s best interests in mind. We will ensure our regulatory regimes deliver appropriate protections for young internet users while respecting their privacy.