The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has published a report about age-restricted online access to both information or services (social media, games and pornography) and physical products (alcohol, cigarettes, etc.) in numerous OECD Member countries, including jurisdictions in Europe, North America, South America, Asia, and Oceania.
This report may be helpful to stakeholders' identification of legislative and regulatory gaps, evaluation of examples of approaches that may be better suited than existing solutions, and informing advocacy efforts to affect change in the jurisdiction in which they operate.
Abstract* from the OECD website:
"Age assurance refers to methods used to identify the age of users online, and consequently ensure that children benefit from safe and age-appropriate experiences. Governments, the tech sector and children's rights organisations are increasingly looking at age assurance as a key tool for providing a safe and beneficial digital environment for children. However, effectively implementing age assurance has proved challenging – especially given the cross-border nature of many digital services that children use. This report examines the complicated legal and policy landscape for age assurance online in OECD countries, aiming to inform the actions of policymakers and other key stakeholders. The report reveals that varying age limits exist in online safety, e-commerce and privacy laws. These limits also vary across jurisdictions. The report further finds that requirements for respecting age limits are not always spelled out in laws or otherwise lack specificity. Laws introducing age assurance requirements are being enacted at a fast pace, particularly regarding social media and online pornography. However, such provisions are further complicating an existing patchwork of laws, highlighting a need for more consistent and coherent approaches."
The report examines several aspects of various jurisdictions' laws: age assurance requirements (including provisions in which such requirements are only implied); specific age assurance methods mentioned in relevant laws; "hard age limits" to access certain online information or services or to purchase physical products online; and privacy and data protection for children online.
The OECD found significant variations in age limits, required or permitted age assurance methods, and definitions of harmful content, with one notable exception: "the age limit across the OECD is almost uniformly set at 18…"
Korea has the most restrictive and most clearly stated age assurance requirements (establishing "an unequivocal obligation to assure age to prevent children accessing harmful material"), while the United Kingdom has the most specific law with definitions of "harmful content from which children should be protected."
Access the full report and more information at https://doi.org/10.1787/4a1878aa-en.
*In the event of any discrepancy between the original work and the translation, only the text of original work should be considered valid.
