Publications
AVPA responds to criticisms from computer scientists
We set out below a short response to the main arguments put forward in a “Joint statement of security and privacy scientists and researchers on Age Assurance” signed by over 400 academics. We welcome this new level of interest in the field but their letter raises...
AVPA corrects the record with US House Committee on Energy and Commerce
We have submitted a letter to the US House Committee on Energy and Commerce in response to a letter submitted by Americans for Prosperity, the Center for Democracy and Technology, and the Software & Information Industry Association. [embeddoc...
Federal Trade Commission Workshop summaries
Below are summaries of the presentations and panel's from last week's FTC workshop. (Please note these have been in part machine-generated, so you are advised to refer to the video of the full proceedings to confirm exactly what was said by any speaker) which is...
The changing landscape of age assurance – George Billinge
21 May 2024 | DefAI Project blog by George Billinge In recent months, the global conversation has heated up. The Australian government has announced significant funding towards a trial of age verification, as part of a suite of measures to tackle violence against...
Australia’s social media ban is working, but give it time.
The UK Government is considering it, and their Conservative Party has already announced that it intends to follow Australia’s lead by setting a minimum age of 16 for social media. Critics of the policy claim that it is not working in Australia, but the evidence does...
USA: A Look at Key Kids Online Safety Federal Bills
In the United States, a wave of federal bills is attempting to redefine how children, teens, and their parents interact with the digital world. Each proposal takes a different approach to online safety, privacy, and platform responsibility. What varies even more...
No, UK porn use was not halved by age verification.
Headlines (BBC, FT, Sky), based on data from Similarweb, have claimed that the use of leading porn sites has been cut by up to 47% in the UK, since the introduction of a comprehensive requirement for "highly effective age assurance". We believe that these stats are...
Lessons learned from UK “AV Day”
The Age Verification Providers Association has produced a report, based on discussions with our members, about the key lessons learned from the wide-scale implementation of "highly effective age assurance" in the UK on July 25th. The scale of the launch was a major...
AVPA Response to Center for Democracy & Technology’s user research
The Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) has published a brief which offers a useful snapshot of how a small group of US teens and parents feel about common age-verification methods. The sample is modest and qualitative by design, so it surfaces concerns rather...
PRESS RELEASE: AVPA welcomes Australia’s Age Assurance Technology Trial final report
London, 31 August 2025 - The Age Verification Providers Association (AVPA), the global trade association for suppliers of age assurance technology, welcomes the publication of the Australian Government’s Age Assurance Technology Trial final report, conducted by the...
The Online Safety Act: A First Amendment for the UK
The UK's Online Safety Act ("OSA") 2023 has faced criticism from some quarters, with detractors labeling it an instrument of censorship that stifles online expression. This narrative completely misrepresents the Act's purpose and effect. Far from censoring legal...