February Overview: Identity Verification Trends and Expert Takeaways
As we wrap up February, we’re taking a closer look at the identity verification (IDV) landscape. The kids are at it again, trying to cheat age assurance, but the adults are staying one step ahead. What else is new in IDV this month?
Mobile Driver’s Licenses—The Road More and More Traveled?
mDLs are poised to redefine personal identification—they’re already seeing diverse use cases around the world. In Australia, Queensland’s digital driver’s license app has been a huge success, and could even be a model for global deployment. California mDLs are now being accepted by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for passenger identity verification at Sacramento International Airport (SMF).
Digital IDs—And the Beep Goes On
There’s a major snowball effect happening. The UK is exploring digital ID use at polling stations, Indonesia is pushing for greater uptake to boost efficiency, and Sri Lanka has allocated $10M for its 2025 digital transformation strategy. South Africa is also prioritizing digital public infrastructure (DPI) to modernize services.
AI: A Legal and Ethical Conundrum
We’re really seeing where the rubber meets the road here. US states are drawing inspiration from the EU’s AI Act, the first-ever legal framework on AI; however, the impact on biometrics may be limited. While the EU is bringing the hammer down on prohibited uses of AI, the US and UK have decided not to sign the Paris AI summit declaration, which calls for “inclusive and sustainable” AI, instead opting for a more laissez-faire approach.
Face & Iris Biometrics—The Windows to the Soul of IDV
Biometric technology is expanding globally, but misidentification is a concern—the London Met Police found out the hard way when they got slapped with a lawsuit from digital privacy group Big Brother Watch. Use cases and regulations are constantly evolving in countries like the UK, as well as Peru, Pakistan, and the Philippines.
National IDs—A United Purpose
National ID systems are evolving to offer more comprehensive services. Ghana plans to transform its national ID into a multipurpose card, India is issuing ID cards to 10 million gig workers, and Brazil has created a federal body to oversee biometric checks and ID issuance.
Age Verification in the Modern Age
Countries worldwide are tightening regulations to prevent underage access to social media, as well as dangerous products and services. With court challenges mounting, tech giants like Google and Meta are turning to machine learning for age estimation. Plus, manual ID checks in retail are going bye-bye—automation is making checkout faster for shoppers and staff while improving security.
Our experts are discussing the top trend of the month: What are the most pressing challenges for age verification in online spaces and brick-and-mortar stores—and what are the most practical solutions?
Nikita Dunets , Deputy Director of Digital Identity Verification at Regula
From my experience, the most tricky challenge is the margin of error that most solutions have when verifying age. If the person is between 30 and 33 years old, there’s no problem—but for someone between 16 and 18, it might be an issue. Unfortunately, from a technical point of view, the system can only deliver probable estimates, which the end user must then interpret. To resolve this issue, we need a new generation of AI-trained neural networks (NNs) and some kind of a golden middle for correctly interpreting the age probability percentage that the system delivers after it assesses facial landmarks.
Andrey Terekhin , Head of Product at Regula
Age verification is intended to prevent minors from accessing restricted products and services, so it is subject to heavy regulations. But there’s a problem: reliable age verification technology requires collecting data to train the algorithm, which is made very difficult by regulators—but low-quality solutions also carry regulatory risks. Another subtlety is online vs. offline verification: on the web, children may use a parent’s passport, whereas in a store, they might just convince an adult to buy for them. Another challenge is vending machines selling adult products in poorly lit areas—it’s too easy for kids to cheat the system. Solving all these problems requires a wide-scale approach, balancing technological innovations and changing the culture through education—many children believe that buying adult products makes them adults, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Dzmitry Smaliakou , Head of Mobile and Web Development at Regula
Currently, the easiest approach to age verification is automatically determining a person's age through facial analysis. In the past, the alternative required presenting an ID document that was scanned or manually verified, followed by either manual or automated facial comparison to confirm ownership—a considerably more time-consuming process. When it comes to online age estimation, it's crucial to first verify that a live person is in front of the camera before determining their age, as age verification without liveness is pointless. This process is also becoming essential in physical stores, where kiosks are now used to estimate a person's age.
Your opinion is also welcome!