It goes without saying that the youth are the building blocks of any country’s success. Therefore, it is necessary to protect them from the harms of age-restricted products and services. Not doing so can affect their mental and physical well-being in the long run. Online businesses that offer age-exclusive items are advised to implement age verification mechanisms to respect social values and to abide by the age-related rules and regulations worldwide.
What does Age Verification Mean?
Age verification is a process in which an end-user (a buyer, seller, or any online user), undergoes a series of age-related checks. The purpose is to determine the right age of the user/customer so that they can be provided the particular (age-restricted) services. An age verification procedure is built on state-of-the-art minor protection standards and often includes document authentication and facial biometric verification. Enterprises can use a solution for digital age verification to verify their users in light of age restrictions set by regulators, in real-time with confidence.
How Necessary are Age-related Checks?
In today’s digital-first world, accessing the internet is pretty easy, and for children, it’s no exception. Since everyone including minors has a smartphone with them these days, they can buy online products anytime and anywhere. This is why websites and online platforms offering age-restricted services should include age checks in their normal day-to-day operations for verifying and onboarding users.
The fact that minors are not mature enough to decide whether using a product will do them good or harm, shows that they need supervision to carry out online activities. Not doing so can make your child end up on an online platform that you don’t want them to be on. To respect moral values and as a social responsibility, merchants of age-limited services should use online age verification checks on their platforms to restrict sales to minors.
Benefits of Age Verification
Digital age verification is necessary because of the following three reasons:
- It makes sure a business carry out its operations in light of age restrictions rules and regulations
- Age verification reduces the risks of minors consuming inappropriate content and products that does them more harm than benefit
- Companies and online platforms that follow age verification laws and obligations build a credible reputation in the market that helps their brand image in the long run
Why Say No To Manual Age Verification?
Because it is not reliable and efficient anymore. The current-day scenario demands something new and robust from businesses. Given the rise in technology, digital solutions are surfacing in the market, not just because of the trend, but due to the amount of convenience and efficiency, they provide in business operations. Imagine, when you go to a liquor store, all the salesman needs to do is see your face to hand you a bottle of wine. But the scenario is not the same when we talk about an alcohol store in a digital setting.
The FDA – Federal Drug Association – has prohibited the sale of alcohol and its by-products to anyone below 18 years. This regulation applies to e-liquor and online tobacco stores as well where someone can buy products online. Therefore, it becomes increasingly important for an age-restricted business to have an age verification mechanism to take care of minors and their reputation in the market.
Online Age Verification – The Way to Go
The tobacco, alcohol, and online gaming industry are under a lot of regulations. These rules aim at only one thing – minor protection. In this regard, an online age verification solution is the need of the hour since each customer must be verified against an official age limit before they are provided age-appropriate services. Digital age verification tools guarantee that age-restricted businesses stay compliant with the global minor protection laws.
The age verification solution automates the process of verifying the user’s age by taking into account their identity documents and facial identity. The checks make sure the user’s face matches with the photo on their ID document, which guarantees a foolproof verification of age and identity.
Meta: Age verification solutions automate the process of verifying the age and identity of online users so that they can avail online services suitable for their age.