Age Verification on registration

[Alpha1]

The current age restriction for XenForo is outdated and does not work. We need a reliable Age Verification system.
My suggestion is to implement integration with one or more Age Verification services

The EU writes about the current method:
Self-declaration: this most common of all methods has been shown to be easily bypassed by children. Examples include self-declaring one's date of birth. (see attached file for reference)
This is why I posted this related suggestion in the past: https://xenforo.com/community/threads/improve-minimum-age-function.87298/

New legislation in the UK has already caused XenForo sites to shutter or to announce shuttering. More in this thread here:

Thread 'UK Online Safety Regulations and impact on Forums'

Dec 17, 2024

The UK regulator OFCOM yesterday announced a set of regulations which will come into effect on 17th March 2025

Time for tech firms to act: UK online safety regulation comes into force

People in the UK will be better protected from illegal harms online, as tech firms are now legally required to start taking action to tackle criminal activity on their platforms, and make them safer by design.

www.ofcom.org.uk

These have broad implications for all forums which "have links to the UK" - including those which accept UK users.

I've not yet had the chance to read all the guidance, as there are thousands of pages of it in multiple volumes. From what I can see the key items are strong age verification and content scanning.

I've already seen some...

• lazy llama
• regulation
• Replies: 917
• Forum: Forum management

• 
• 
• 

Hamster forum and local residents’ websites shut down by new internet laws

Scope and scale of Online Safety Act likened to China’s ‘great firewall’ as small websites struggle to comply

www.telegraph.co.uk

My suggestion is to implement integration with one or more Age Verification services. Some considerations for choosing Age Verification services are:

• Cost: It can quickly become costly if the webmaster will have to pay a significant amount per signup.
• Ease of use: Age Verification should not be too obstructive in the registration process.

Here are some possible Age Gate services:

AgeVerify - Website Age Verification - AgeVerify

AgeVerify is a free website age checker, pop up splash entry page & age verification pop-up script that easily integrates in to your existing website with a single line of code.

ageverify.com

Google 0auth may have something:

Access age-restricted content & features - Google Account Help

Some content and services are subject to age verification. To access age-restricted content or services, we may ask to confirm your age with a valid government ID, or a valid credit card.

support.google.com

Age and identity verification

Explore Verifymy's safeguarding solutions for online platforms, ensuring trust and compliance with age and identity verification.

verifymy.io

Building the world's trusted identity platform • Yoti

Our comprehensive suite of customer verification tools make it easy for businesses to be compliant and safe for people to prove who they are.

www.yoti.com

There are also payment services that allow the user to verify their age by payment. i.e. paid registration.

Some more options here:

The Top 9 Age Verification Solutions | Expert Insights

Explore age verification solutions offering comprehensive checks, identity validation, and compliance with age-restricted regulations to maintain age-restricted access.

expertinsights.com

I think that adding such integrations would help some webmasters keeping their websites online and avoid shutting them down.

 

[Alvin63]

Agree

 

[Alvin63]

It needs to be an Ofcom approved version of age id also. Just typing DOB in isn't acceptable.

 

[zappaDPJ]

Agree

You should place a vote

 

[Alvin63]

Sorry - didn’t see anywhere to vote?

 

[philmckrackon]

Sorry - didn’t see anywhere to vote?

First post.

 

[Mendalla]

At the rate things tend to move in Canada where regulating the Internet is concerned, I figure I will have grandchildren old enough to join my site by the time we get there (my son and his wife don't have kids yet). We haven't even brought our privacy laws up to parity with GDPR yet (bill died at the last election and still hasn't been reintroduced). But it is increasingly becoming a need online and adult sites, like the site I write erotica for, could use this yesterday. Upvoted.

 

[Alvin63]

Still can’t see anywhere to vote

 

[Neal]

Still can’t see anywhere to vote

 

[Mendalla]

View attachment 320590

Or at the bottom of the opening post if you're on a phone or similar small screen.

 

[Alvin63]

Or at the bottom of the opening post if you're on a phone or similar small screen.

Cheers! Well that wasn't very obvious lol! Voted. Can you see who has voted anywhere?

 

[Suzanne O]

Agree.

 

[chillibear]

I wonder if one issue with verification on registration is that it puts the onus on the site owner to pay for the verification - which may well be a moot point if you're paying a few hundred a month for a solution anyway. I would imagine it would be more complicated to tie a purchase into the registration in order to get the user to cover the fees. Although it is more upfront and obvious at the time of registration.

Partially that was why I opted to just make my age-check implementation tied into the normal user account upgrades and I think that could make sense here. So if you don't want anyone under 18 you make that clear on the registration form and any member will have to pay for age verification before they can do anything. You get them registered, but the 'registered' group has almost no permissions. They then need to "buy" the age verification (thereby covering your costs and if needed supplying a name/address for verification) and you kick off the process from that. If someone doesn't cough up their account remains active but useless and could be closed down/deleted after some arranged period. There is a bit of a grey area in that you may well then have age-failed/unwilling "users" who are children, but I think given they are no different really from "guests" (who it seems fine if they are children) and those accounts are not hanging around in that state I can't imagine Ofcom would really nitpick the difference given the outcome is the same "think of the children!"

 

[Alpha1]

Some form of paid registration with age verification would indeed be a welcome option. As long as it's easy to use for the users.

 

[Mr Lucky]

New legislation in the UK has already caused XenForo sites to shutter or to announce shuttering.

But if it’s regarding “effective” age verification, eg id based, then those are only porn sites that are effected by that part of OSA surely?

 

[Alvin63]

I wonder if one issue with verification on registration is that it puts the onus on the site owner to pay for the verification - which may well be a moot point if you're paying a few hundred a month for a solution anyway. I would imagine it would be more complicated to tie a purchase into the registration in order to get the user to cover the fees. Although it is more upfront and obvious at the time of registration.

Partially that was why I opted to just make my age-check implementation tied into the normal user account upgrades and I think that could make sense here. So if you don't want anyone under 18 you make that clear on the registration form and any member will have to pay for age verification before they can do anything. You get them registered, but the 'registered' group has almost no permissions. They then need to "buy" the age verification (thereby covering your costs and if needed supplying a name/address for verification) and you kick off the process from that. If someone doesn't cough up their account remains active but useless and could be closed down/deleted after some arranged period. There is a bit of a grey area in that you may well then have age-failed/unwilling "users" who are children, but I think given they are no different really from "guests" (who it seems fine if they are children) and those accounts are not hanging around in that state I can't imagine Ofcom would really nitpick the difference given the outcome is the same "think of the children!"

That's a good idea. Although I am pretty sure members wouldn't join my site if they had to pay. One they might - not the other. In which case it would be similar to just asking for ID on sign up.

 

[Alvin63]

But if it’s regarding “effective” age verification, eg id based, then those are only porn sites that are effected by that part of OSA surely?

Not necessarily. If you don't have age verification then you have to do the child assessment and child risk assessment and that is another extensive set of things to go through and may possible mean needing additional software anyway. Ofcom says that most sites need to be classed as being viewed by children and the options are - age verification or do the child assessment.

 

[zappaDPJ]

But if it’s regarding “effective” age verification, eg id based, then those are only porn sites that are effected by that part of OSA surely?

That's not my understanding. I believe there are a multitude of content types that might require effective age verification depending on a) the level of perceived harm (categorised 'primary priority content', 'priority content' or 'non-designated content') and b) whether the site is likely to attract a 'significant number' of children.

I'm quite happy to be corrected if any of this is wrong.

 

[Alvin63]

This isn't displaying properly for me - is it ok for others? Mainly black (might be my computer)

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/consultations/category-1-10-weeks/statement-age-assurance-and-childrens-access/childrens-access-assessments-guidance.pdf?v=388843

 

[Alpha1]

But if it’s regarding “effective” age verification, eg id based, then those are only porn sites that are effected by that part of OSA surely?

It's clear that various webmasters who don't run prone sites feel forced to shutter their site completely, partially or to take other radical action (block the UK) to avoid all chance to end up being on the receiving end of OSA fines.

The insane lack of clarity by ofcom really doesn't help.