Age assurance case studies

Sector

Games 

Challenge 

For the past 15 years, players have had to provide their date of birth to use SIE’s product, PlayStation. This ensures that parents can implement parental controls and SIE can provide age-appropriate services. With the introduction of the Children’s code, SIE saw an opportunity to further safeguard younger players by using new technologies to increase SIE’s confidence in the ages of their players. 

Approach 

SIE procured an age assurance provider to develop a pilot in the UK and Ireland that respected players’ privacy without compromising their gaming experience or preferences. 
 
Key considerations of the procurement process were: 

• assessing the vendors’ information security and data protection practices;
• how their technology enabled SIE to conform with the Children’s code; and
• the practicality of their age assurance solutions for use by children and parents.  

SIE comprehensively and rigorously evaluated all vendors’ solutions across several phases, the last of which was testing the quality and scale of their age assurance solutions and conducting user experience studies.  
 
SIE decided to work with a provider that could offer a variety of age assurance methods for players to choose from, including mobile number checks, facial age estimation and ID verification.  

Impact 

Throughout the pilot in the UK and Ireland, SIE continues to receive useful information to adjust and improve the age assurance experience for players. Having confidence in the age of their players allows SIE to provide age-appropriate services and to support parents and guardians in implementing parental controls to tailor their child’s experience on PlayStation.

Sector

Games 

Challenge 

Epic wanted to empower young players to meaningfully participate in their games and experiences without compromising their safety or privacy. That meant finding a solution that did not restrict the gaming experience of young players or encourage false self-reporting of age. 

Approach 

In December 2022, Epic rolled out Cabined Accounts, which are designed to create a safe and inclusive space for younger players. 
 
When a player goes to create an Epic Games account, they are first required to provide their age. If a player indicates they are under 13 or their country’s age of digital consent, whichever is higher, their account will be a Cabined Account. They will be asked to provide a parent or guardian’s email address to receive consent to access certain features in Epic’s products.  
 
While waiting for parental consent, children can still play Epic’s games but won’t be able to access certain content or features until their parent or guardian provides consent. Parents of players with Cabined Accounts will receive an email from Epic to inform them that their child has created an account, with details on how to provide consent for additional features and set up parental controls. Parents who provide consent are verified via Epic’s Kids Web Services. 
 
Some of the features that are disabled in a Cabined Account include: 

• communicating with other players using voice chat or text chat;
• purchasing items with money;
• downloading games that are not owned by Epic; and
• email marketing. 

Impact 

Epic provides privacy features and controls so players and parents can choose how they want to play and interact across Epic’s games. And for younger players that are waiting for a parent to tailor their parental control settings, Cabined Accounts help create a safe and inclusive space for younger players to join in on the fun.

Sector

Social media 

Challenge 

Yubo procured new technologies to help them estimate the age of their users to provide a better and safer online experience for young people using their app. That meant they could provide better protection for young people by lowering the risk of interactions between children (ie people between 13 and 17), young people and people significantly older. This also reduced the risk of exploitation and inappropriate interactions. 

Approach 

Yubo procured an age assurance provider to help enforce their age gates policy. This classifies users into appropriate age groups, preventing those with significant age differences from interacting with each other. This process constitutes a self-declaration of age by the user, supplemented by facial age estimation (FAE) to estimate their age.

As part of the age assurance process, Yubo uses a number of methods and protocols to identify and restrict access by users under 13. That includes: 

• profile verification through an ID check, which Yubo can demand if there is a suspicion or a safety concern;
• automated age detection (eg user claiming to be under 13 in their bio); and
• tools for reporting and removing accounts of under 13s.

Impact 

Age assurance promotes authenticity in the app by encouraging users to provide their real age, which leads to more responsible behaviour and adherence to platform guidelines. 

Fostering a more genuine community will attract and retain users who value the platform's integrity and trustworthiness. This approach not only complies with age-related regulations but also enhances the platform's integrity, creating a healthier, more engaged user base.