Iain Corby

A summary of the achievements and lessons learned of the euCONSENT project and what comes next

Dec 7, 2022 | Project activities

And what is next? The consortium agreed to create a new non-profit to take forward the project. While we could leave it to the private sector market to simply agree between themselves to exchange age checks, we want to retain the governance and ethics that euCONSENT has established. The generous funding of the European Commission has now ended, so the new organization will need to find other sources – AV providers, large platforms, research grants etc. But we hope you will agree with all those involved that it is important to keep the euCONSENT dream alive.

euCONSENT and the Better Internet For Kids+ Strategy

Aug 22, 2022 | Miscellaneous

The European Commission has published an update to their approach to making the internet a safer place for children across Europe, the Better Internet For Kids+ (BIK+) Strategy.

We were delighted to see a commitment to build on the work of euCONSENT funded project to create interoperability for age checks and parental consent processes across Europe:

Building on ongoing work [euCONSENT is a EU funded pilot project aiming to design and test an interoperable solution for age verification and parental consent] and taking account of the new DSA [Digital Services Act] rules for online platforms, the Commission will support methods to prove age in a privacy-preserving and secure manner, to be recognised EU-wide. The Commission will work with Member States [primarily through the safer internet for children expert group] (who in line with national legislation can choose to issue electronic IDs to the under-18s under the recent proposal on a European Digital Identity), relevant stakeholders and European standardisation organisations to strengthen effective age verification methods, as a priority. This work will encourage market solutions through a robust framework of certification and interoperability.

euCONSENT Advisory Board Members

Nov 22, 2021 | Project activities

Keen observers of our website will have noticed that we have now published the membership of our project Advisory Board. We have been very keen from the outset of this project to involve a wide range of stakeholders, including those who supply technology to the online world, those who focus on the protection of the rights of children in the digital space, regulators and those who will rely on age assurance to offer more care to children on their platforms.

Comments by Cecilia Alvarez Rigaudias, EMEA Privacy Policy Director, Facebook, at the euCONSENT conference in Athens, 9 September 2021

Oct 8, 2021 | Project activities

“Verifying someone’s age is not as simple as it might sound. We have seen this, I think, in the contributions of all the other previous speakers.
It is generally acknowledged by policymakers, regulators and also, as we have seen, by researchers, at a global level, that age verification is a multifaceted issue for which, at present, there is not an agreed solution, which in itself speaks to the inherent challenges that are involved.
hese difficulties have been acknowledged by certain regulators in the European Union and the UK. They recognise that it is unlikely to be a one size fits all solution for all the”
Cecilia Alvarez Rigaudias, EMEA Privacy Policy Director, Facebook

euCONSENT conference in Athens and Online – September 9

Sep 8, 2021 | Project activities

On Thursday, we will hold the first of a series of engagement events designed to ensure that the euCONSENT solution is developed as transparently as possible and benefits from a wide range of input from stakeholders.

We will be hosting a conference in Athens for attendees both in person and online, with over 170 signed up already.
The theme of the conference is finding the balance between age verification, parental consent, and child rights. There is no doubt that there are some controversial issues surrounding this topic, and we hope to air them in this forum, as well as offering some clarity about what a technical solution can realistically deliver, and what is perhaps beyond the practical possibilities of this technology.

“Online Child’s Rights, Age Verification and Parental Consent: Finding the balance” Conference, Athens and Online, September 9

Sep 3, 2021 | Press releases

EuCONSENT to reveal ground-breaking research and outline plans for EU-wide infrastructure to enable online age verification and parental consent at Athens Conference next week.
A trailblazing EU-funded pilot project which is developing European-wide infrastructure to facilitate interoperable, anonymised Age Verification and Parental Consent mechanisms is to host the first ever conference to focus exclusively on finding the balance between Online Child’s Rights, Age Verification and Parental Consent.

European Digital Identity Wallet: is the end nigh for independent age verification?

Aug 2, 2021 | Miscellaneous

At first sight, the creation of an EU digital wallet may appear to some observers to offer a state-sponsored replacement for the online age verification market. Yet why, those same observers may ask, is the EU already funding a major project to develop the infrastructure require for interoperable age verification and parental consent (www.euCONSENT.eu)? The answer lies in some key distinctions between the two initiatives, but does not preclude the opportunity to leverage some significant synergies through complementary aspects of each exercise.

euCONSENT consortium awarded European Commission funding to create a child rights’ centred cross-border system for online age verification and parental consent.

Apr 21, 2021 | Press releases

euCONSENT is a European Commission project under the call: “Outline and trial an infrastructure dedicated to the implementation of child rights and protection mechanisms in the online domain based on the GDPR and other existing EU legislation relevant for the child within the online domain”.

In a bold step towards enabling stronger regulatory online protection for European children, a consortium of twelve of the continent’s leading academic institutions, NGOs and technology providers has been awarded EU funding to design, deliver and pilot a new Europe-wide system. This solution will allow service providers to verify the age of their users to protect them from harmful content, and will ensure that younger children have parental consent before they share personal data.

A summary of the achievements and lessons learned of the euCONSENT project and what comes next

euCONSENT and the Better Internet For Kids+ Strategy

euCONSENT Advisory Board Members

Comments by Cecilia Alvarez Rigaudias, EMEA Privacy Policy Director, Facebook, at the euCONSENT conference in Athens, 9 September 2021

euCONSENT conference in Athens and Online – September 9

European Digital Identity Wallet: is the end nigh for independent age verification?

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