Are you a business that provides age-restricted services or products? Or perhaps you are someone who wants to understand how an age verification system works. Either way, in this blog post, we’ll provide a clear explanation of how you can verify the age of customers online, comply with regulations, and ensure security in a simple manner.
For some businesses, having an age verification system is mandatory. Regulated entities such as adult-oriented platforms, online gaming sites, or alcohol companies must legally verify their customers’ ages. This means they are required to create a customer onboarding process where users are asked to confirm their age.
We’ll discuss the main methods for verifying age and provide detailed guidance on implementing an age verification system that ensures both security and a smooth user experience.
What is Age Verification?
Age verification is a security measure designed to ensure that individuals attempting to access certain services or products meet the legal age requirements. Companies can perform age verification either in person or electronically.
Depending on the method, organizations can verify the customer’s age using identity document checks, data records, or biometric checks to see if the person isn’t lying about their date of birth. Most importantly, an age verification system ensures that the company is complying with Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements and follows age restrictions on the services or products they offer.
What is an Online Age Verification System?
An online age verification system checks a user’s personal identifying information (PII) against various data records and sources to ensure they can legally access the desired services or products. For an age verification system to be effective, it must prioritize two key aspects: providing a seamless user experience and ensuring that minors cannot bypass the security measures.
Age verification systems can take various forms, from a simple checkbox where users confirm they are over 18 to more thorough methods like video calls, during which candidates show their ID. Modern age verification solutions primarily rely on electronic methods that use artificial intelligence (AI) and facial recognition technology.
How is Age Verification Related to Identity Verification?
The age verification process is often conducted alongside Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures. KYC is a mandatory practice in industries such as FinTech and other regulated sectors during customer onboarding. In these cases, confirming a person’s age is just one part of the broader identity verification process.
Age verification is also a mandatory requirement in industries like e-commerce, even when KYC compliance is not necessary. This need arises when businesses sell age-sensitive products and services. Although identity verification might not always be required, companies are still responsible for ensuring they are engaging with adult customers.
Why Basic Age Verification Measures Don’t Work
With the proliferation of apps and the general ease of e-commerce, it has become incredibly easy for minors to purchase age-restricted products online. Basic age gates on websites, usually involving a checkbox asking users if they are over 21, have proven ineffective.
As a result, the birth dates provided in these age gates often go unverified, allowing children of any age to bypass them simply by lying. Other examples of age gating include:
- Adult entertainment sites rely on users selecting their age from a drop-down menu before proceeding, facing the same challenge.
- Online liquor stores asking consumers to confirm they are over 21.
- Social media platforms or dating sites require users to enter their birthdates for access.
The Importance of Facial Recognition in Age Verification
Facial recognition technology plays a crucial role in online age verification systems by ensuring the authenticity of the person whose age is being verified. Typically, an age verification system involves two stages: an ID document check and a selfie match.
ID document scanning: The user starts the age verification process by photographing their ID card, driver’s license, or passport. The system then uses advanced image processing technology to verify the validity of the uploaded document.
Selfie matching: The user is asked to take a selfie, which serves two purposes: verifying liveness and likeness. Liveness technology ensures the user is a real person and not a static or photoshopped image. The system then confirms that the person in the selfie matches the face on the ID document.
The entire process is automated, typically providing results within seconds after the images are captured. This efficiency is why many e-commerce businesses, particularly those in regulated industries like pharmaceuticals, prefer online age verification systems.
In-Person Age Verification vs. Online Age Verification
While people were accustomed to being identified in person, many businesses now face the challenge of verifying a person’s age online. The process can vary significantly depending on the method used.
We explore the main differences between in-person age verification and online age verification below.
In-Person Age Verification
A traditional example of in-person age verification is when someone purchases an alcoholic beverage in a liquor store. Here, the seller requests a government-issued document with a photo, such as a passport or driver’s license.
Similar to how a bank employee verifies your identity in person, the store clerk must also confirm your identity and age. They do this by checking the document for legitimacy, examining special security features like NFC chips or barcodes.
They also look for signs of forgery, such as unusual fonts or holographic foils, indicating possible tampering. In general, they must carefully inspect the photo, compare it to your face, and verify the date of birth listed on the document.
Online Age Verification
Confirming a customer’s age online follows a similar principle but with key differences. Instead of a physical seller, an online government ID verification is conducted. This method is widely regarded as one of the most reliable ways to remotely verify identity documents and confirm a person’s age.
How the online age verification process looks step-by-step:
Step 1: The user takes a photo of their government-issued document, such as a passport or driver’s license.
Step 2: The automated online age verification system extracts data and analyzes the document’s photo for authenticity.
Step 3: The user uploads a series of selfie photos for further verification.
Step 4: The age verification system compares and matches the selfies against the user’s identity document photo.
Step 5: The online system determines the user’s age, either rejecting or allowing them to purchase age-restricted goods.
Advanced age verification systems remotely analyze a scanned copy of the user’s ID and verify the age in seconds. These systems offer several advantages, including the ability to extract details like name, date of birth, and passport number. Most importantly, they can read and verify important security elements such as the Machine Readable Zone (MRZ).
Why Your Age Verification System is Important
If you’re an online platform selling age-restricted products or services, verifying your customers’ ages is crucial to:
- Comply with regulatory requirements.
- Safeguard minors from accessing your services.
- Build a good reputation by maintaining robust security measures.
In the post-pandemic environment, where e-commerce is booming and delivery or takeout services are on the rise, companies must find a way to verify their customers’ ages swiftly. To outdo the competition, businesses must ensure both security and a frictionless age verification experience. Otherwise, they risk losing customers to other platforms.
Additionally, keep in mind that a robust age verification system can benefit various age-restricted products, not just alcohol.
Other Age-Restricted Markets
Any online retailer facilitating age-restricted activities or providing services requiring adult consent needs an age verification system.
This requirement applies to the following markets in the US:
- Adult content and R-rated movies
- Online gaming and gambling
- Lottery tickets
- Aerosol paint
- Social media platforms and dating sites
- Guns (depending on the type)
- Razors (depending on the type)
- Fireworks (depending on the state)
Selling age-restricted items to minors is not only illegal but also unethical. It can expose your company to negative media coverage and loss of customer trust. Integrating a reliable, hard-to-trick age verification system can help you avoid these negative impacts.
Check if an Age Verification System is Required at Your Business
While we’ve covered some regulated products and services, other markets also require age verification. These include businesses that offer:
Food Delivery Services
Companies providing food delivery services must verify the age of customers purchasing alcohol. Whether alcohol is part of a larger order or bought independently, delivery drivers must ask for a valid ID before handing over the order.
Online Gambling
The success of online gambling has led to stricter regulations, particularly for verifying players’ ages. For example, the legal gambling age varies by state. Some states, like Oklahoma, have a minimum age of 18, while most states require a minimum age of 21.
Online Gaming
Despite regulations, many post-pandemic online gaming platforms failed to prevent underage participation effectively. Generally, gaming sites follow the same age requirements as traditional casinos, set at either 18 or 21 years old.
Medical Services
Companies providing medical services must verify the ages of their patients. As telemedicine becomes more prevalent, expectations for age and identity verification are likely to become stricter. Currently, patients must be at least 18 years old to provide informed consent for medical services.
Age verification laws you need to know: The California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act (AADC), also known as the California Law, applies to businesses accessible to children. This law requires stronger privacy policies for users under 18, with penalties up to $7,500 for non-compliance.
Alcohol and Tobacco
Age verification is mandatory for vapes, cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, cigars, hookah pipes, dissolvable, and nicotine gels. Tobacco products can only be sold to individuals over 21. Compliance regulations for cannabis differ; while many states allow medical marijuana use at 18, recreational cannabis is typically limited to those 21 and older.
Age verification laws you need to know: The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 mandates that businesses must confirm customers are at least 21 years old before allowing them to purchase or receive alcohol. Before this, states had their own minimum drinking age laws, resulting in inconsistencies similar to the current landscape of marijuana regulations.
Adult Entertainment
Companies selling or distributing adult-oriented content online must verify that users accessing their platforms are at least 18 years old. Previously, many sites used basic age-gating methods, leaving security gaps. However, Louisiana has enforced stricter age verification measures, including government ID and database verification.
Age verification laws you need to know: Act 440, known as the Louisiana law, targets companies involved in the online sale or distribution of pornography. This law mandates that businesses verify users are at least 18 years old before granting access to adult content.
Why Automated Age Verification is the Best Option in the Market Right Now
To effectively use an age verification system, you should choose a solution that balances speed and security.
What you must consider when choosing an age-verification solution provider:
- If your age verification process is arduous and sluggish, users will likely seek alternatives and take their business elsewhere.
- Age-restricted companies that implement both automated age verification and identity verification procedures more easily mitigate the risk of significant fines due to negligence. At the same time, they ensure a frictionless process for their customers.
- Liveness detection and biometric verification are crucial for a foolproof age verification system, especially given the prevalence of easily accessible spoofing, deepfakes, and other fraudulent activities.
