How does age matter? Ethically and legally speaking age matters for many websites. Economically speaking there is also the issue of financial responsibility. For the websites offering mature services and adult products the age verification process is a must, even though it is frought with shortcomings. The news is full of chatroom related problems and crimes.

Most states are pushing for improved age and/or identity checks - a probable further loss of the right to privacy. But you shouldn’t be able to transact in these environments without responsibilty - and I guess that means honesty as to your identity. Big concerns over sexual predators are just the beginning for the push to improve age and identity checks.

Improved identification with minimal infringements of rights, as well as keeping the web a user-friendly environment for communication and commerce is the big trick here. Nobody has bottom-lined all the implications so far. Any improvements will take cooperation and patience.

Messaging and sharing of photos is huge for kids and teens. I’ve seen some of the photos and text from those interactions. They range from typical or fun to raw or grotesque. Parents, school administrators and police have become increasingly worried that teens are finding more trouble than they can deal with. There have been plenty of arrests and lawsuits stemming from the new “e-street”.

A lot of websites allow visitors to self-report their age. There are tools to verify age, used most effectively porn sites or sales of alcholic beverages. A credit card acts as both identity and age verification for many sites, but the card could be borrowed or used secretly. IDology Inc. and Sentinel Tech Holding Corp.’s Sentry use various methods to check addresses, birth dates and other information that users have provided versus the record of public databases, like voting and property records.

Minors do not have as many unique identifiers as adults do - they are not registered voters, they don’t have mortgages or car loans, many don’t have driver’s licenses. Schools have legitimate concerns about releasing student records to various corps and agencies, and some states restrict disclosure of driver’s license information on minors.

Changing to a more reliable system entails cost too. And any technical solution that is rigid enough to work would penalize the legitimate users who cannot be verified. There is also a concern that partial enforcement of indentity measures would only drive kids and troublemakers to a non-compliant website - kind of like slipping away from teacher’s view at a dance. Half solutions in fact would give parents and children a false sense of security, and possibly increase risk.

Freedom vs Responsibility - the biggest question in Eden.

Against the Wind,

Arthur Browning