The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) has initiated a review of existing age verification policies on social media and gaming platforms, following heightened calls for stronger safeguards in the wake of violent incidents involving minors.
CICC Executive Director Renato “Aboy” Paraiso stated that the agency aims to establish an effective protective framework for children without forcing them to needlessly surrender their personal identity details.
”Privacy does not equate to identifiability. In the discussion of child safety, we also have to acknowledge the fact that we must also go after the predators, we must also go after the groomers, and in order for that to happen, we need to identify them,” said Paraiso.
Paraiso made the statement after a stakeholder town hall meeting focused on tightening safety protocols across digital platforms. The session brought together government representatives, advocacy organizations, and digital safety experts to gather input ahead of forming a technical working group (TWG) with Meta and Roblox.
The TWG aims to draft stronger regulations targeting online child grooming, fraud, and malicious anonymous behavior.
During the discussions, attendees highlighted that age assurance systems should simply verify whether a user falls into a specific age category, thereby minimizing the collection of sensitive personal data.
While technical and design details remain under discussion, participants reached a consensus on the fundamental goal of securing online spaces for young users.
The insights gathered from the consultation will be submitted to the TWG, which is slated to evaluate the legal, due process, data minimization, and technical elements of the proposed verification architecture.