Publications
Using age assurance to prevent self-generated CSAM and sextortion
As children head back to school, many will do so carrying something previous generations never had: a smartphone that provides constant access to social media, messaging apps and strangers. For many parents, one concern increasingly stands out above the rest:...
The VPN Fallacy revisited
Why age verification laws should require more than an IP address to prove a user’s location Understanding “the VPN Fallacy” Some adult websites claim they comply with state-mandated age verification laws by blocking access from states where such laws are in effect....
New Zealand’s online age restrictions benefit from “second-mover advantage”
New Zealand has become the latest country to propose a social media minimum age of 16. But its new Online Safety (Minimum Age and Child Safety Risk Assessment) Bill does more than copy Australia. National, the largest party in New Zealand’s governing coalition, has...
No, EFF: ZKPs are a ‘silver bullet’ in Age Assurance when privacy is critical
In their latest publication in a series tackling age assurance, "Zero-Knowledge Proofs Aren’t Age Verification Silver Bullets" the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) base their critique of a proven cryptographic technology entirely on the potential for it being...
Countries Considering Social Media Delays
Governments are increasingly exploring a “social media delay” to restrict or better regulate children’s access to online platforms. These proposals are driven by growing concerns around youth mental health and online safety risks. Many countries are considering...
Age Assurance at 16 White Paper
Ofcom is due to report to Parliament on the feasibility of age assurance to implement a minimum age of 16 for social media in the UK. We consulted our members and have provided this report on the state of the art of current age assurance technology when it comes to...
Evidence to Australian Senate confirms our case: The problem is not Age Assurance – it’s the lack of it
This week’s Senate committee hearing into the social media minimum age ban confirmed what AVPA documented in our Lessons Learned report published in April: that platforms are not using the wide range of age assurance options they could adopt. So, this news...
New Mexico Court Judgement: Positive or negative for Age Assurance?
On 6 August 2026, Judge Biedscheid of the First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe issued his findings of fact, conclusions of law and judgement in State of New Mexico v Meta Platforms, Inc. The case had been brought by New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez,...
Why “Device-Only” age checks are a False Choice for lawmakers
A prominent adult platform network recently published an open letter to US lawmakers arguing that site-level age verification laws have failed. In its place, the letter proposes that lawmakers mandate Apple, Google and Microsoft to build device-level age checks into...
BMJ publishes research confirming age assurance is not being deployed in Australia
A study published in the BMJ on 24 June 2026 looked at what actually happened to Australian teenagers in the three months after the Social Media Minimum Age Act came into force in December 2025. The headline conclusion has been widely reported as proof that age...
AVPA Response to Prime Minister’s Announcement on Social Media
PRESS RELEASE AVPA Response to Prime Minister's Announcement on Social Media The Age Verification Providers Association (AVPA) confirms that the age assurance requirements needed to support a minimum age of 16 for social media are technically achievable using...