The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has rejected an application to introduce a new “privacy-protective facial age estimation” technology that would have analyzed a user’s face geometry to determine their age. The application was submitted last year by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), UK-based identity software firm Yoti, and youth marketing company SuperAwesome, which was previously part of Epic Games.
The FTC’s decision to deny the application for facial age estimation technology as a new COPPA parental consent method was unanimous, but it can be resubmitted in the future. However, the FTC did not rule on the technology’s merits in its decision. In a statement from the ESRB last year, it was clarified that the technology was intended for use by adults seeking to provide parental permissions, not children themselves. The ESRB emphasized that the technology did not take or store selfies or attempt to confirm user identities and was not meant to prevent children from purchasing restricted video games.
Photographic imagery would not have been stored, and there would be no use of facial recognition algorithms to identify users. It remains uncertain if and when the ESRB and its partners will resubmit the technology for further review in the future. The decision marks a setback for companies seeking innovative solutions to enforce COPPA regulations while maintaining privacy protections for users.
