Selfie-based age checks boom amid push for online controls

As governments crack down on online platforms from social networks to porn sites, business is booming for one sector offering AI age checks based on selfies.

- OLIVIER DEVOS

The technology promises speed and accuracy in implementing laws like Australia’s social media ban for under-16s, which takes effect on Dec 10.

As a user, verifying your age with the technology is a breeze.

All it requires is taking a head-on selfie with a phone or computer camera, and an automated decision is made within a minute.

“We estimated your age is 18 or older,” read a popup window on the Roblox gaming site.

At startup Yoti’s spacious London office, mannequin heads — some fitted with wigs or masks — are lined up along one of the windowsills for testing.

Their AI is not fooled by them. “We can’t be sure that the image was of a real face,” said one test platform installed on a smartphone.

DATA PRIVACY FEARS

Over time, “the algorithm got very good at looking at patterns and working out, ‘this face with these patterns looks like a 17-year-old or a 28-year-old... it just got very good at estimating age’,” said CEO Robin Tombs.