> “Our investigation found that Reddit failed to apply any robust age assurance mechanism and therefore did not have a lawful basis for processing the personal information of children under the age of 13… These failures meant Reddit was using children’s data unlawfully, potentially exposing them to inappropriate and harmful content,” an ICO press release said.
Sounds correct to me. They want Reddit to check ages more thoroughly in order to ensure they are dealing with data for under 13s correctly.
Whatever the justification, it seems the UK is determined to push strict age (and thus identity) verification on social sites.
How do you plan to prove that a user is at least 13 without collecting ID or having a third party do it? The ICO press release says that self-declaration is inadequate here, and the other methods they recommend in their age assurance document cannot ensure anonymity.
In the age of facial recognition, a “video selfie” is easily translated into an identity. And besides, websites should not be collecting “video selfies” of children, for any reason.
Yes, could happen. And to adults too. The social media site might choose to avoid this by stopping at #2. Leading to complaints from 14-yr-olds denied their right to social media.
I remember when Ars was good, but that memory is fading fast.