Florida progresses new law to protect kids from social media and online harms

Earlier this year, Florida passed a law, House Bill 3, prohibiting children under 14 from using social media platforms and requiring parental consent for those aged 15 or 16. It also requires measures to prevent minors from accessing online pornography. While the question of age verification for obscene content has

Innovative age assurance: Email address as the new benchmark for frictionless age estimation

In the rapidly evolving environment of online interactions, age assurance is becoming a critical component for online platforms looking to maintain their integrity, protect their reputation and safeguard their users. Age assurance encompasses a suite of methods and technologies to verify and estimate users' ages to ensure they meet

A tale of two states: Social media & content moderation policy in Texas and Florida

The rise of social media and the associated concerns about its impact on users, especially youth, have led to numerous federal and state policies in the U.S. over the years. While increased awareness and actions addressing issues like content moderation, age verification, and parental consent are signs of progress,

Sextortion and the need for robust safeguarding solutions

Defining sextortion  London’s Metropolitan Police define ‘Sextortion' as “the short name for 'financially motivated sexual extortion’. It is a type of online blackmail where criminals threaten to share sexual pictures, videos, or information” about the victim either to take money from them or to force them into

The false dilemma of privacy versus online safety

As the internet becomes increasingly embedded in young people’s day-to-day lives, the potential conflict between protecting youth online safety and safeguarding the right to privacy is only growing in importance. A recent Ofcom report indicated that half of children aged 3-12 are already active on at least one social

Online Safety

Age-restricted access to porn in the US: Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, and Nebraska next to implement age verification measures in July

In a significant shift toward safeguarding minors online, five more U.S. states, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, and Nebraska, are set to implement new age verification measures for accessing pornographic content starting in July. The new laws will require websites hosting adult content to employ robust age verification systems to

Online Safety Act

Protecting children from online harms: Navigating Ofcom's recent consultation

Ofcom has just published for consultation its draft codes and associated guidance for protecting children from harms online, the key objective of the Online Safety Act 2023.  Given the volume of material, in this article we provide a brief overview of the proposals and highlight how VerifyMy can support services

Age Assurance

Empowering users with optionality: The future of age verification and estimation

In April, the world's leading experts on privacy-preserving, secure, and reliable age assurance measures came together at The Global Age Assurance Standards Summit 2024 to discuss the future of enabling a safer online experience for children. The event shed light on the evolving landscape of age assurance (age

artificial intelligence

Business Best Practice: Preparing for AI Regulation

Follow VerifyMy on LinkedIn to keep up to date with the latest safety tech and regulatory developments. The proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) has been rapid, with 9 in 10 leading businesses (across 112 countries) leveraging some form of the technology within their operations. New use cases are constantly emerging,

Online Safety Act

VerifyMy Response to Ofcom Guidance on Age Assurance: a Call for Consistency, Swift Enforcement & Industry Collaboration

Follow VerifyMy on LinkedIn to keep up to date with the latest safety tech and regulatory developments. The Online Safety Act (OSA) received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023. It creates a new regulatory framework designed to make regulated internet services safer for users in the UK, particularly for children.

Digital Services Act

Supporting the DSA Implementation: How the EC is taking the lead on ensuring the effectiveness of the new rules and the protection of users online

Follow VerifyMy on LinkedIn to keep up to date with the latest safety tech and regulatory developments. The Digital Services Act (DSA) has recently reached full force as of February 17, 2024. However, big tech players have been under its scope since August 2023. The European Commission (EC) has been

Safer Internet Day

Young People Encounter Harmful, Age-Restricted and Illegal Content Within Minutes of Going Online

Follow VerifyMy on LinkedIn to keep up to date with the latest safety tech and regulatory developments. New research, launched on Safer Internet Day, reveals that shockingly almost one in ten (9%) young people have come across Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) on the internet. Findings also show that children

Safer Internet Day

A Duty of Care: Why it’s time to Enhance Age Assurance and Content Moderation to Protect Children from Harmful Online Content

Follow VerifyMy on LinkedIn to keep up to date with the latest safety tech and regulatory developments. In today’s digital-first environment, children are being routinely exposed to harmful, age-restricted and even illegal content online. The continued proliferation of smart devices and easy, anywhere access to user-generated content (UGC) through

Online Harms

Senate hearing over online harms

Follow VerifyMy on LinkedIn to keep up to date with the latest safety tech and regulatory developments. “Speaking as someone who has been heavily involved in similar hearings related to online safety, they are invaluable in raising awareness on important topics. However, rather than pointing fingers now is the time

Digital Safeguarding

The Surge of Social Media-enabled Financial Sextortion

Follow VerifyMy on LinkedIn to keep up to date with the latest safety tech and regulatory developments. A recent study by the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) 'A digital pandemic: Uncovering the role of 'Yahoo Boys' in the surge of social media-enabled financial sextortion targeting minors.'

Providing Business Clarity: How updated Guidance from the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) on Age Assurance for the Children’s Code will Improve Online Child Safety

Follow VerifyMy on LinkedIn to keep up to date with the latest safety tech and regulatory developments. Businesses have historically lacked clarity from regulators regarding the compliant methods of age assurance available to them.  While some brands have had to devote significant time and resources to understand and implement the

Digital Safeguarding

Safe Experiences Online: The Need for Regulation & Effective Implementation

Follow VerifyMy on LinkedIn to keep up to date with the latest safety tech and regulatory developments. VerifyMy's Commitment to Responsible Tech, Accountability & Collaboration In the rapidly evolving landscape of the digital age, the need for regulation to protect people online has become not just a necessity

Digital Services Act

A new age of accountability: The Digital Services Act and its implications for Very Large Online Platforms

Follow VerifyMy on LinkedIn to keep up to date with the latest safety tech and regulatory developments. On August 25, 2023, the Digital Services Act (DSA) came into effect, forcing very large online platforms (VLOPs) and search engines (VLOSEs)  – a platform or search engine with more than 45 million users

Digital Safeguarding

Global Threat Assessment 2023 - WeProtect Global Alliance

Follow VerifyMy on LinkedIn to keep up to date with the latest safety tech and regulatory developments. WeProtect Global Alliance has published its latest report, assessing the scale and scope of child sexual exploitation and abuse online. The report finds that child sexual abuse material (CSAM) reports have increased by

Online Safety Act

The Online Safety Act is now law

Follow VerifyMy on LinkedIn to keep up to date with the latest safety tech and regulatory developments. The Online Safety Act has received Royal Assent and is now law, bringing a renewed focus on how online services can provide a safer life online for children and adults in the UK.

Digital Safeguarding

Online platforms that fail to tackle child sexual abuse material could lose bank accounts

Follow VerifyMy on LinkedIn to keep up to date with the latest safety tech and regulatory developments. British banks could lead the way in using their influence over their customers to tackle child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) found online by withdrawing financial services. In a move which mirrors the existing

Online Safety Act

UK Passes Online Safety Act

Follow VerifyMy on LinkedIn to keep up to date with the latest safety tech and regulatory developments. The Online Safety Act has completed its passage through the UK Parliament and awaits only the King’s assent – a formality – before it becomes law. This will trigger an 18-month deadline for the

CSAM

Removing child sexual exploitation and abuse materials: call to action

Follow VerifyMy on LinkedIn to keep up to date with the latest safety tech and regulatory developments. The clue is in the name - the ‘World-Wide Web’ is a truly global entity, so it is both natural and welcome that the United Nations is showing an increased interest in preventing

Online Harms

Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) release 2022 Annual Report

Follow VerifyMy on LinkedIn to keep up to date with the latest safety tech and regulatory developments. The IWF have released their 2022 Annual Report revealing a deep dive into the digital and social emergency happening #BehindTheScreens, in children’s bedrooms. “Invite child abuse pyramid” or ICAP sites incentivise users

Digital Safeguarding

The growing problem of online-facilitated child sexual abuse

Follow VerifyMy on LinkedIn to keep up to date with the latest safety tech and regulatory developments. This IICSA investigation focusses on the growing problem of online-facilitated child sexual abuse. The increase in access to and use of the internet has brought undeniable benefits to society. It has also enabled