IT ministry asks tech firms to find age verification methods under data law

They have to 'figure out' how they want to implement age-gating requirement, says source

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The government has asked technology and social media companies to find solutions to verify the age of children in accordance with the country’s new data protection Act, said multiple sources.
 

Officials of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology met with representatives of big tech companies and social media platforms on Thursday to discuss issues related to verification of parent-child relationships under the so-called age-gating requirements of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act.

“The ministry made it clear that the government does not want businesses to be impacted in any way but the platforms have to figure out how they want to implement the age-gating requirement. The ministry was very open to feedback,” a source told ‘Business Standard’.

The ministry had tried Digilocker and Aadhaar authentication to verify age but did not find the methods effective. Age-gating to prevent individuals below 18 years from accessing various digital apps is a concern for regulators, big tech, and social media firms.

The DPDP Act mandates platforms to obtain “verifiable consent” from a parent or legal guardian before processing personal data of users under the age of 18. This provision was one of the most contentious issues during the public consultations on the Bill last year.

Section 9 of the DPDP Act says that before handling any personal data of a child or a person with a disability who has a legal guardian, the “data fiduciary” must first get clear and confirmed consent from the child's parent or the person's legal guardian.

According to sub-clauses under Section 9, the fiduciary shall not undertake such processing of personal data that is likely to cause any detrimental effect on the well-being of a child and shall not undertake tracking or behavioural monitoring of children or targeted advertising directed at children, according to the law.