The secret to making the internet age-appropriate is a quick and friction-free UX, says a new report. Tim Green, Director of MEF’s ID and Data programme, explains how it might work…Â
How do you get people to do digital stuff?
If 30 years of the internet and 18 years of the smartphone has taught us anything, it is surely this:
Make it easy.
Yes, you can try paying people. Or forcing them. Or you can give them reasons why something is good for their wellbeing. But ultimately, if you want the best chance of success, just make the process painless.
It’s why phone makers switched from unlock passcodes to face scans.
Now, this universal truth is now manifesting itself in a new domain: age verification (AV).Â
As most of you know, 2025 has been the year of AV. Across the world, a number of countries have mandated age checks for people who want to access adult-oriented web sites and services. Yes, it’s a new era for the web, one in which consumers come to expect AV as a normal process.Â
Interest is growing in this process. The not-for-profit organisation euCONSENT ASBL has designed a global network to standardise these checks. Just as important, it created a tallying service to count the number of token exchanges, so that providers can get paid. The price is visible to relying parties, along with a unique code for each issuer..
One month after AV day landed in the UK, the Age Verification providers Association (AVPA) has published a report detailing its key conclusions about the scheme so far.
It makes for interesting reading. Take a look. And for a deeper dive, watch my exclusive interview with the AVPA’s Iain Corby.
The study makes it clear that most consumers are OK with AV and that reports of mass drop offs and workarounds are exaggerated. Instead, it argues that the bigger threat to take up is not so much privacy as the arduous log-in and on-boarding process.Â
The report reveals that many platforms now ask users to create accounts to avoid repeated sign-ins. But this is no solution since it undermines anonymity and increases the risk of credential sharing.
So what’s the answer? AVPA is clear on this: interoperable, reusable tokens.
Though I know most MEF members will recognise this phrasing, I still don’t like the jargon. So let’s walk through how it works in plainer english.
A first-time user visiting an age-restricted website will be asked to sign in with an age assurance provider. They click on the link and are then invited to use one of a range of techniques to register. This could be voice or face estimation, mobile account check, email scan and so on.Â
But here’s the important bit. They can also choose to create an account with the third party AV provider. Now, whenever they visit an age-gated site, they can click on that provider’s link and they are instantly signed in.Â
It’s a single age check that can be re-used on multiples sites and apps.
This is very quick. It’s also private. Why? Because when the user creates an account with an AV provider, the latter stores a token on the device. This token is transmitted to the adult service at sign-in. So the system is ‘double-blind’. The website/app doesn’t know the identity of the user, and the age assurance provider doesn’t know which sites he/she is visiting.
Interest is growing in this process. The not-for-profit organisation euCONSENT ASBL has designed a global network to standardise these checks. Just as important, it created a tallying service to count the number of token exchanges, so that providers can get paid. The price is visible to relying parties, along with a unique code for each issuer.
The euCONSENT ASBL web site provides an excellent video walk-through of how the process looks to end users.
It will take a while for the reusable token to establish itself. At this early stage, users are still discovering the AV process and options. But I think it’s inevitable that friction (or lack of it) will win out.Â
Find out more about the themes discussed –Â Join the MEF ID & Data Interest Group.
