Research Summary: Reconceptualizing Age Assurance as a Sociotechnical Problem: Connecting Evidence, Evaluation, Claims, and Decisions

The conventional view of age verification as a purely technical problem is overly restrictive. Age assurance, encompassing verification, is a complex sociotechnical challenge where evidence is evaluated to make age-related claims, influencing access, purchase, or belonging. A review of 85 publications reveals inconsistencies in terminology, varying representations of age, and a stronger focus on rights, access, and privacy over technical accuracy, error, and fairness, particularly regarding institutional actors.

Why it matters

This research highlights the critical need to view age assurance beyond a technical lens, recognizing its profound impact on individuals' rights and access. A comprehensive, sociotechnical understanding is essential for developing equitable and effective systems that navigate privacy concerns, accuracy, and fairness, particularly as institutional actors increasingly rely on these mechanisms.

Key insights

• Age verification is frequently and incorrectly framed as solely a technical challenge regarding system accuracy.
• Age assurance is a sociotechnical problem, consequential when evidence is evaluated, translated into age-related claims, and used for access or purchase decisions.
• Shared terms like 'age verification' describe distinct processes across different contexts.
• Age is represented either as threshold eligibility or through inferred estimation.
• Similar eligibility claims can originate from diverse evidence and system components.
• Research prioritizes rights, access, and privacy considerations over the technical aspects of accuracy, error, and fairness in age assurance systems.
• Institutional actor considerations are prominent in the discourse surrounding age assurance.

Source

arXiv — Computers and Society — https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.13598