Poll of the Day > the esrb wants to scan your face to verify your age now

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://gizmodo.com/esrb-rating-face-scan-age-verification-1850674601

The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is seeking approval from the FTC to implement facial age estimation technology to stop kids skirting parental controls. If the industry�s self-regulating body gets its way, kids and their parents may need to get used to taking selfies to sign up for games.

In a recent application submitted by the ESRB, digital identity firm Yoti, and youth digital media company SuperAwesome, the three organizations jointly asked the FTC for approval to implement what it�s calling �Privacy-Protective Facial Age Estimation.� The proposed system would use facial age-matching technology similar to facial recognition that estimates the age of a person based on patterns in their face. If approved, the system wouldn�t replace other verification methods entirely but would rather serve as �an additional, optional verification method.�

The ESRB emphasized its commitment to privacy with the tool in a statement sent to Gizmodo. An ESRB spokesperson said the tool would not store face images after they are scanned and that the scanner cannot be used to confirm the identity of users. The ESRB does not intend to use facial age estimation to prevent children from purchasing restrictively rated games, the spokesperson added.

�First and foremost, this application is not to authorize the use of this technology with children. Full stop,� the ESRB spokesperson said. �Any images and data used for this process areneverstored, used for AI training, used for marketing, or shared with anyone.�

If not for rated M games, what would the age verification be used for?

The ESRB spokesperson said, �If a player or user is looking to sign up for a new service and they are under the age of 13, they will be prompted to provide their parent�s email address to obtain.� The parent will then receive an email and have the option to give consent for the child to create the account.

Users engaging with the facial verification system would be asked to submit a selfie which is then transformed into a set of numbers and compared against Yoti�s database of face measurements. Users then receive a yes/no result based on the system�s determination of their age. The proposed tools only let users submit live photos as a way to safeguard against kids who may try to weasel around the age gate by submitting a still photo of their parents. Photos that don�t meet the system�s �required level of quality� also aren�t accepted. The verification process, the application estimates, takes just about one second, on average, to complete.

The ESRB spokesperson says it recommended an age threshold of 25 be set �to prevent teenagers or older-looking children from pretending to be a parent.�

ew

ESRB is not a law therefore they have no grounds to do this.

Um...what's stopping a kid from just holding up a photograph of an adult?

Revelation34 posted...

ESRB is not a law therefore they have no grounds to do this.

They're an industry regulatory body, so if they really wanted to play hardball they could say, "Put this system in your games or we will refuse to rate them." Also notable is that they're asking the FTC about this, which *is* a government regulator and has the power to mandate things like this.

That said, it's an incredibly stupid system and I doubt it will ever see the light of day.

This is pretty stupid. The system basically guesses your age, it seems Which doesnt work for younger looking adults, or adults with more childish faces And those arent super uncommon Not to mention that they set the age limit at 25 to prevent older looking teenagers. So young adults who look their age also may be stopped from getting games

I had a full mustache by the time I was 11 and a beard by the time I was 14. This is a dumb non-functional policy, but I also think it would be hilarious imagining how many dick pics they would get sent in.

just scan your dick then sue them for having CP

That would have sucked for my older sister for many years. From age 16 to 40 she looked like a teenager. Now she looks like she's in her low 20s, save for the patch of slightly graying hair above one ear.

Lokarin posted...

just scan your dick then sue them for having CP

I'm picturing a lot of boys trying this, and the machine saying it's unable to detect object.

Patent doesn't mean it's going to happen, it's a very dumb idea

Would likely be added as an optional parental control

darkknight109 posted...

They're an industry regulatory body, so if they really wanted to play hardball they could say, "Put this system in your games or we will refuse to rate them." Also notable is that they're asking the FTC about this, which *is* a government regulator and has the power to mandate things like this.

That said, it's an incredibly stupid system and I doubt it will ever see the light of day.

That's the point. It would get challenged in court and then thrown out if the FTC mandated it since it isn't a law.

any chance they can get to get our face scans into a database disgusting

Good thing I don't play video games besides Runescape anymore.

darkknight109 posted...

That said, it's an incredibly stupid system and I doubt it will ever see the light of day.

I expect this is a matter of them setting themselves up to be able to say "look, we tried to make games safer for children, but you shot down our efforts, so what more do you expect us to do?" the next time they face pressure to regulate something like lootboxes that absolutely should not be in games that minors play. It's so obviously doomed that I struggle to believe that it's a serious effort, especially where they're outright saying "we don't expect to take pictures of children" about a system that's explicitly designed to take pictures of an applicant to confirm that they aren't a child.

Everyone in here is like oh no if this ever happened wouldnt be able to play them games anymore

nothing wrong with loot boxes. wonder balls got their praise back in the day

i finally read the link and the face scanning would be optional

Yeah no. Those busybodies can go fuck themselves with that nonsense. Videogames have ratings. Let parents decide what their kids can and cannot play at any given time. They don't get to decide for everyone.

Lil_Bit83 posted...

Yeah no. Those busybodies can go fuck themselves with that nonsense. Videogames have ratings. Let parents decide what their kids can and cannot play at any given time. They don't get to decide for everyone.

Its the sneaky kids that go against their parents instructions

NinjaGhosts posted...

Its the sneaky kids that go against their parents instructions

So? Just about everyone has played games, listened to music, or watched movies their folks have disapproved of. It's not up to the ESRB to parent the entire nation.

maybe parents should just try giving a shit instead.

Nade_Duck posted...

maybe parents should just try giving a shit instead.

Some parents care, some don't. Some use common sense and are a little more permissive then others. Some are gullible, panicky and overly restrictive. It's always been that way.

there are parents who would opt in and submit pictures of themselves and their children that is caring

NinjaGhosts posted...

nothing wrong with loot boxes.

Quite a lot is wrong with loot boxes, such that they should be subject to exactly the same rules that govern gambling, especially as far as marketing to minors goes.

NinjaGhosts posted...

Its the sneaky kids that go against their parents instructions

And? Everybody did/does that.

Revelation34 posted...

And? Everybody did/does that.

Prove it

Johnny_Eagle posted...

Prove it

You're losing this one. I know it's funny to hit the "citation needed guy" with a citation needed...

But I've been told I look younger than I actually am