Latest news with #ageverification
Associated Press
21 hours ago
- Business
- Associated Press
TrustNFT.io Announces TrustNFT - AV: A Blockchain Solution for Name and Age Verification
FRANKLIN, NJ / ACCESS Newswire / May 30, 2025 / Silver Scott Mines, Inc. (OTC PINK:SILS) today unveiled TrustNFT - AV, a streamlined version of its blockchain-based identity platform, TrustNFT - AV is purpose-built to verify only name and age, offering a secure, privacy-first solution for social media platforms, age-restricted events, and websites seeking to prevent underage access and reduce the risk of fake IDs. Addressing the Challenge of Age Verification 'Traditional age verification methods are not only invasive but also easily circumvented by fake IDs and data leaks,' said the TrustNFT development team. 'TrustNFT - AV puts privacy and security at the forefront, providing a blockchain-secured credential that is both tamper-resistant and user-controlled.' Key Features of TrustNFT - AV Target Markets TrustNFT - AV is tailored for: By providing a secure, verifiable, and privacy-preserving way to check age and identity, TrustNFT - AV helps organizations comply with regulations and protect minors from unauthorized access. Reducing the Risk of Fake IDs Unlike traditional verification systems that rely on easily forged physical documents, TrustNFT - AV's blockchain-based approach makes it significantly harder for underage users to gain access using fake credentials. Each verification is cryptographically signed and instantly auditable, giving platforms and event organizers confidence in compliance and safety. About Silver Scott Mines, Inc. (OTC PINK:SILS) Silver Scott Mines, through its digital innovation division, Silver Scott Digital, is dedicated to building blockchain-secured financial and identity tools for next-generation compliance, transparency, and user sovereignty. TrustNFT is the company's flagship platform for digital identity and private market infrastructure. For more information or to partner with TrustNFT - AV, visit . Contact: Stuart Fine, CEO 908-356-9852 #TrustNFT #AgeVerification #BlockchainIdentity #OTCSILS #DigitalCompliance #PrivacyFirst Disclaimer: TrustNFT - AV is in beta and not a registered identity platform. Use is subject to platform terms and verification requirements. Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expected and projected. Words such as expects, believes, anticipates, intends, estimates, seeks and variations and similar words and expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements with respect to revenues, earnings, performance, strategies, prospects and other aspects of the businesses of Silver Scott Mines are based on current expectations that are subject to risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual events, performance or results to differ materially from the events, performance and results discussed in the forward-looking Silver Scott Mines Inc press release
Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Meta, owner of Facebook, Instagram, testifies on Ohio's bill to require age verification
(Photo illustration by) Tech giant Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, testified on an Ohio bill to require age verification to download from app stores. Millions of kids use social media. 'I'm a parent,' Jennifer Hanley, head of safety policy in North America at Meta, said. 'I know teens are on so many apps.' That's why Hanley headed to the Ohio Statehouse to testify in support of House Bill 226, which would require age verification for all app store purchases or downloads for minors. 'The broad support of parents and lawmakers across political and ideological spectrums should not be ignored,' she said. State Rep. Melanie Miller, who introduced the bill, said this would hold companies accountable — ones like Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Manufacturers would need to create a way for parents to give consent for kids under 16 to download any application, and then that will be sent to social media apps. 'I'm introducing this legislation to protect children from harmful content, reduce mental health risks, enhance data privacy, and encourage responsible technology use,' Miller said. Although House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, likes the bill, she is skeptical of the tech giant. 'All you have to do is look at the opposition that they have waged not only in state legislation in this space, but also federal legislation in this space,' Russo said. Meta has been filing lawsuits against social media age requirements across the country, including in Ohio. The state legislature passed restrictions on media apps for kids under 16 in 2023, but it has now been blocked by a federal judge due to free speech concerns. This bill is different because it is not just targeting social media apps, but all apps, Hanley testified. Attorney General Dave Yost filed a lawsuit, saying that the company used 'manipulative tactics to entice teens and tweens.' Russo agrees, adding that the company could be doing much more to protect kids. 'Do I think that it is going to be as effective as some of the other things we know they have the capacity to do using their own algorithms?' she said rhetorically. 'Probably not.' Only in the past year, Meta created a teen program to monitor and restrict what minors can access and who they can talk to. 'We're always learning, we're always building,' Hanley said. 'Teen accounts are a really great example of that.' The bill will continue being heard in the coming months. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
The Verge
a day ago
- General
- The Verge
Posted May 30, 2025 at 3:51 AM EDT 0 Comments
The EU age verification app will launch in July. The app is described as a temporary solution until the EU rolls out a Digital Identity Wallet with age-checking features next year, aiming to support the enforcement of rules that require online platforms to protect minors. The app will allow users to verify their age without giving personal information to platforms, and was briefly mentioned on Tuesday when the EU Commission announced its probe into major porn sites.
Fast Company
3 days ago
- Health
- Fast Company
New Texas law says Apple and Google must now verify ages of app store users
Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Tuesday signed into law a bill requiring Apple and Alphabet's Google to verify the age of users of their app stores, putting the second-most-populous U.S. state at the center of a debate over whether and how to regulate smartphone use by children and teenagers. The law, effective on January 1, requires parental consent to download apps or make in-app purchases for users aged below 18. Utah was the first U.S. state to pass a similar law earlier this year, and U.S. lawmakers have also introduced a federal bill. Another Texas bill, passed in the state's House of Representatives and awaiting a Senate vote, would restrict social media apps to users over 18. Age limits and parental consent for social media apps are among the few areas of wide U.S. consensus, with a Pew Research poll in 2023 finding that 81% of Americans support requiring parental consent for children to create social media accounts and 71% support age verification before using social media. The effect of social media on children's mental health has become a growing global concern, with dozens of U.S. states suing Meta Platforms and the U.S. Surgeon General issuing an advisory on safeguards for children. Australia last year banned social media for children under 16, with other countries such as Norway also considering new rules. How to implement age restrictions has caused a conflict between Meta, the owner of Instagram and Facebook, and Apple and Google, which own the two dominant U.S. app stores. Meta, along with social media companies Snap and X, applauded the passage of the bill. 'Parents want a one-stop shop to verify their child's age and grant permission for them to download apps in a privacy-preserving way. The app store is the best place for it, and more than one-third of US states have introduced bills recognizing the central role app stores play,' the companies said. Kathleen Farley, vice president of litigation for the Chamber of Progress, a group backed by Apple and Alphabet, said the Texas law is likely to face legal challenges on First Amendment grounds. 'A big path for challenge is that it burdens adult speech in attempting to regulate children's speech,' Farley told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday. 'I would say there are arguments that this is a content-based regulation singling out digital communication.' Child online safety groups that backed the Texas bill have also long argued for app store age verification, saying it is the only way to give parents effective control over children's use of technology. 'The problem is that self-regulation in the digital marketplace has failed, where app stores have just prioritized the profit over safety and rights of children and families,' Casey Stefanski, executive director for the Digital Childhood Alliance, told Reuters. Apple and Google opposed the Texas bill, saying it imposes blanket requirements to share age data with all apps, even when those apps are uncontroversial. 'If enacted, app marketplaces will be required to collect and keep sensitive personal identifying information for every Texan who wants to download an app, even if it's an app that simply provides weather updates or sports scores,' Apple said in a statement. Google and Apple each has its own proposal that involves sharing age range data only with apps that require it, rather than all apps. 'We see a role for legislation here,' said Kareem Ghanem, senior director of government affairs and public policy at Google, told Reuters. 'It's just got to be done in the right way, and it's got to hold the feet of Zuckerberg and the social media companies to the fire, because it's the harm to kids and teens on those sites that's really inspired people to take a closer look here and see how we can all do better.'
CNN
3 days ago
- Business
- CNN
Texas governor signs new law requiring Apple and Google to verify all app store users' ages
Google and Apple will soon be required to verify app store users' ages in Texas, after Gov. Greg Abbott signed the rule into law on Tuesday. The Texas App Store Accountability Act follows similar legislation that passed in Utah earlier this year, although it requires the app stores to collect even more user data. Enforcement of the Texas law is set to begin at the start of next year — giving app stores several months to determine how they will collect this information. The bill was passed with super-majority approval by the Texas House and Senate. It's part of a broader push for regulation to better protect kids online, with lawmakers and some social media companies arguing that app stores should serve as centralized clearinghouses for verifying users' ages. A handful of other US states have proposed similar legislation. But the app store operators, as well as some experts, say the age verification rules could pose privacy risks and be difficult to enforce. 'We believe there are better proposals that help keep kids safe without requiring millions of people to turn over their personal information,' an Apple spokesperson said in a statement regarding the bill last week. Apple CEO Tim Cook called Abbott earlier this month to encourage him not to sign the bill as written, according to a Wall Street Journal report. A representative for Abbott did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment. Like Utah's law, the Texas bill requires app stores to verify all users' ages and obtain parental consent before minor users download or make a purchase through an app. They're also required to share 'age categories' — child, young teenager, older teenager or adult — with app developers so that, at least in theory, they can provider safer experiences for young users. But Texas' law adds an additional requirement: The app stores must also confirm that the parent or guardian approving a minor's app downloads has the legal authority to make decisions for that child. App store operators Google and Apple argue that the age verification bills will undermine individual privacy. That's because every user, not just children, will have to provide sensitive data — likely an ID or a scan of their face — to confirm their age, even if they only want to download something like a weather app, where age is irrelevant. And the custody rule will require parents to turn over even more personal documentation. Legal experts have also raised concerns that such laws could run afoul of the First Amendment by forcing adults to choose between handing over personal information or accessing 'legally protected online speech.' Likewise, minors would be forced to get parental consent before accessing protected online speech. Apple and Google have suggested alternative proposals that would involve a shared responsibility for age verification between app stores and app developers, and sharing age data only with the platforms that need it. Apple says it is set to release an 'age assurance' feature that lets parents share their child's age range with app developers. 'Importantly, this solution does not require app marketplaces to collect and keep sensitive data—such as passports or driver's licenses—from all users to verify age,' a company spokesperson said in a statement last week. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment after Abbott signed the Texas law. However, some social media companies — including Meta, Snap and X — have advocated for app stores to be responsible for verifying users' ages, saying it will prevent users from having to share personal information across multiple platforms. The new laws come as online platforms have faced fierce criticism for exposing young users to harms such as sexual harassment and eating disorder content. And the rise of artificial intelligence chatbots has raised even more concerns and questions about how teens use technology. Even as they have rolled out teen safety features, critics have noted that young people could evade them by signing up for accounts with inaccurate birthdates and called for formal age verification.
