On 11th July we were thrilled to warmly welcome over 80 guests from diverse sectors to our Digital ID and Age Assurance Forum. The forum aimed to explore the evolving landscape of age verification, the opportunities and challenges posed by digital ID implementation, and the critical role Serve Legal plays in this domain. After a brief introduction to Serve Legal’s mission from Matt Eastwood and Seth Uden, firmly positioning us as a trusted industry provider, we were able to delve into a variety of vital considerations in the age estimation and digital ID sector. A summary of key messages are available in this short article.
What is Age Assurance?
What is Age Assurance? Simply age verification plus age estimation. In this segment, Jenni Garratt and Matthew Houliston, from Serve Legal, provided an insightful introduction to age assurance, breaking down jargon to make this complex topic more digestible. The direction of travel for ID has been an interesting topic of conversation for decades, with the 2002 National ID card proposal under Tony Blair to the 2023 Online Safety Act. Age verification is reaching a pivotal moment with the development of digital IDs, one that is poised to transform the industry.
The Importance of Interoperability
Mel Brown and Oscar Jaffer from PASS, discussed the necessity of interoperability in digital ID systems. The PASS card scheme, endorsed by the Home Office, aims to create a standardised process for digital ID recognition across the UK. This initiative includes dynamic QR codes for secure verification, offering a seamless user experience while protecting personal data. The team from PASS were able to showcase the tangible benefits to the industry of having widely recognised and accepted forms of digital ID, including higher rates of age verification compliance, improved customer experience, increased staff productivity and reduced violence and tension between customers and staff.
Digital Identities – Current Status and Future Prospects
Gareth Narinesingh, Identity Development Director at Open Identity Exchange, advocated for verified and reusable digital IDs. These IDs allow customers to use a single credential for various platforms, from medical records to plane tickets, to age verification. Gareth discussed the concept of Zero Knowledge Proof, which ensures minimal data sharing, and emphasised the need for robust certification through the Trust Framework. He projected that widespread adoption of digital IDs could be achieved within 2-3 years, revolutionising industries by simplifying identity verification processes globally. Gareth highlighted that many businesses are still grappling with the technicalities of digital IDs. He stressed the need for clear communication and practical integration strategies to help businesses and retailers adapt to this new technology safely and effectively.
An End-to-End Age Assurance Solution
Dan Johnson and Ian Moody, CEO of Luciditi, alongside Deepak Tewari from Privately, presented their end-to-end age assurance solution. This system, certified by UKAS for GDPR compliance, scans a user’s ID once to confirm identity and allows them to present ID whilst keeping personal information which would be on a driving license or passport, private. The team noted the important use of this technology to ensure accurate and secure age confirmation. The benefits include improved compliance, reduced operational costs, and enhanced customer experience. They demonstrated this technology at the forum, showcasing its potential for various applications, including alcohol sales.
Demonstrations and Networking
During lunch, attendees engaged in hands-on demonstrations from age assurance technology providers and networked with peers. This interactive session allowed guests to explore the practical applications of the discussed technologies and see how accurately it was able to predict their age based solely on a quick facial scan. We were also able to invite a number of our local auditors, aged between 16 and 22, to test the technology and provide feedback to providers and clients directly.
Legislation Update
Seth Uden and Graham Roberts from Serve Legal provided a legislative update following lunch. Graham addressed data protection, GDPR, and the Equality Act, emphasising retailers' responsibility to safeguard data and avoid discrimination. Graham also covered the key highlights from the various different AI acts that are being processed through Parliaments at the moment, namely the EU, UK and US AI Acts. As this remains a developing area of legislation, we will continue to inform and support clients with relevant updates and developments. Seth discussed the implications of the Online Safety Act and Ofcom guidance, highlighting the importance of regular testing to ensure the technology is unbiased and effective. It is integral that data sets used by technology developers and independent audit providers are built to reflect the diversity of the population; these need to be reproducible and reliable results that fairly account for all ages, ethnicities, genders and classes.
Ethical Challenges
David Sully, CEO of Advai, delved into the ethical challenges in age assurance technology. With these evolving data systems being probabilistic we are in need of ethical considerations that go beyond our deterministic legal processes to cover all of the grey areas in the middle. In his talk, David stressed the need for balanced data sets and rigorous testing to avoid biases. David also underscored the importance of using diverse and representative data to train AI models, ensuring fairness and accuracy. With technologies such as these reliant on pixels and data, we cannot assume that our human ideologies of racial and gender fairness are automatically applied. We can’t be marking our own homework. As a result, it is vital that all technologies are independently tested using totally unique data sets to avoid any biases – such as a camera that struggles to detect paler or darker skin tones.
Key Considerations for Retailers
For our panel discussion we were proud to welcome Craig Marston from Ladbrokes Coral, Andrew O’Brien from Innovative Technology, Barney Muir from Yoti, Michaela Coetsee from Advai and Alastair Graham from AVPA to take the microphone. This panel discussion covered ethical data collection, bias prevention in algorithms, and accountability in digital ID systems. The discussion emphasised the importance of thorough testing and data augmentation to ensure robust and reliable age assurance technologies.
Supporting Age Assurance Technology
Our final segment welcomed Dr. Ioannis Ivrissimtzis from Durham University to explain how Serve Legal's collaboration with the university has refined our Under 18 Zero Failure Certification. This partnership ensures that our testing thresholds are fair and accurate, preventing both underage misclassification and unnecessary false alarms.
Summary and Closing Remarks
Jenni Garratt closed the forum, summarising the day's discussions and thanking attendees. The event fostered important dialogues between retailers, providers, and industry leaders, making complex topics accessible through expert presentations and panel discussions.
Serve Legal recognises the critical role of digital ID and is committed to supporting its integration; we are proud to share our latest offering of four unique audit service programmes to assist and safeguard both providers and retailers:
- Under 18 Zero Failure Certification
- Accuracy and Fairness Testing
- Liveness Testing
- Digital ID Audits
For more information or to inquire about our auditing services, please contact our team at businessenquiries@servelegal.
If you would like to liaise with the speakers at our event, you can find their LinkedIn profiles linked to their names in the article (in order of appearance).