Smartphones, social media and other platforms have made problematic content accessible on a whole new scale. The introduction of age restrictions to protect children and young people is therefore becoming an increasingly frequent topic of discussion.

But how can this be implemented in practice? Who should carry out the age verification? And how can data protection be ensured, for example when uploading photo IDs or webcam recordings? These and other questions are currently being investigated by the Institute for Technology Assessment (ITA) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) in cooperation with the Vienna Chamber of Labour.

"There is currently a lot of debate about what content or platforms should be accessible to children and young people, and from what age – but how and with what considerations such age restrictions could be implemented often remains unclear. The aim of the study is to provide an overview of existing options and to examine how these can be applied in a meaningful way. Risks, especially for data protection, are also being examined. Only then can we meaningfully discuss whether age restrictions are a good way to strengthen children's rights,‘ emphasises Fabian Fischer from the ITA, who is conducting the study together with Anna Pauls.

Further information:

ITA-Project page: Online Age Assessment