- British non-profit Internet Matters found that about half of children easily bypass online age checks.
- Children use techniques such as drawing facial hair to make age verification tools think they are older.
- Age verification laws are being introduced worldwide, often requiring upload of official documents like driver’s licenses.
- Critics warn that this creates databases that can be hacked and threaten an open web.
- Companies like Apple, Reddit and Meta use a combination of documents and algorithmic age estimation, while Discord has delayed implementation.