FTC Denies Facial Age Estimation Proposal for COPPA Compliance

The decision, made without prejudice, awaits the completion of a NIST evaluation on the technology.

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has denied the ESRB, SuperAwesome, and Yoti's joint application to use facial age estimation technology for COPPA compliance, but the decision was made without prejudice.
The FTC's decision was based on the lack of a completed evaluation from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on the proposed technology, with the ESRB having requested a 90-day delay for the NIST's report.
The proposed technology aimed to verify the age of individuals for mature-rated game purchases and obtain parental consent for collecting children's information under COPPA.
Concerns raised during the public comment period included privacy, the potential for deepfakes, and the accuracy of the technology.
The ESRB and its partners may resubmit their application in the future, especially once the NIST's evaluation of the technology is available.