Tackling Age Verification in Vaping and Porn – Identity News Digest

Welcome to FindBiometrics’ digest of identity industry news. Here’s what you need to know about the world of digital identity and biometrics today:

Consumer Safety Commission Cracks Down on Biometric Safes

The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission is cracking down on biometric gun safes, announcing recalls for products from multiple brands, including Machir, Bulldog, MouTec, and Awesafe. In all those cases, the Commission warns that the safes’ biometric locking system can be opened by unauthorized users, posing a serious risk of injury or death. The move comes after a faulty fingerprint-based biometric locking system on a Fortress Safe product allowed access to a 12-year-old boy last year, resulting in his death—and a recall of the product, along with a lawsuit against the company.

Kuwait Mandates Fingerprint Registration

Kuwait’s General Administration of Security Relations and Media has announced that effective March 1, 2024, residents will have three months to register their fingerprints, with a deadline set for June 1. Individuals who are travelling abroad are exempt from the three-month timeframe, but will be required to register their fingerprints upon their return to the country. Individuals who fail to comply with the order will be suspended from conducting any transactions with the Ministry of Interior. Among other things, the Ministry of Interior is responsible for issuing civil identity documents and providing police and fire services.

Malta Prepares New Passports, ID Program

The government of Malta is working on a transition to a new identity program, with plans to issue biometric passports starting in October of this year. As Times of Malta reports, the government is also implementing a National Identity Management Information System, which will be handled by “a single office,” though it is not yet clear whether this office will be an existing government institution of a new entity created for this purpose. With respect to plans to introduce new passports, biometric data will be collected at the Passport Office; at the same time, citizens will be invited to register for an “e-ID,” according to the report.

Lawmakers Wrestle With Privacy in Porn Access Issue

Canada’s Conservative Party is backing proposed legislation that would require age verification for users seeking access to online pornography; but in commenting on the bill in Parliament, Conservative MP Karen Vecchio specifically stated that “there should be no direct collection of identity documentation by the site publisher from the pornographic site, no age estimates based on the user’s web browser history and no processing of biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying or authenticating a natural person.” Read the full story on Mobile ID World.

Similar tensions have arisen in Nebraska, where similar legislation has been proposed by State Senator Dave Murman. Legislative Bill 1092 would compel pornography sites to work with third party companies that would compare images of users to their state ID, or, alternatively, use age estimation technology to grant (or deny) users access to adult content. Seeking to address concerns from other senators, Murman proposed an amendment that would clarify that the bill will not require the creation of a digital ID system.

Joint Venture Seeks to Establish Age and Compliance Solution for Vaping

A new joint venture is being established to drive technological innovation in e-cigarettes and vaping products, with biometric technology poised to play an important role. It comprises Ispire, a specialist in vaping technology; Berify, which offers a platform that links physical products to digital assets; and Chemular, a regulatory consulting firm. The group is looking to develop “an industry-standard age-verification solution” for vaping devices and for the “Premarket Tobacco Application” regulatory process. “This venture includes additional partnerships that will bring together biometric identity and access control, ensure the solution is embedded into vapor devices during manufacturing and provide safety, security and privacy for consumers,” explained Chemular CEO Kevin Burd.

Korean Researchers Develop Wearable Emotion Sensor

Researchers at South Korea’s Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) have developed a wearable sensor system that they say can effectively recognize emotions. It’s based on a “personalized skin-integrated facial interface” (PSiFI) system—a flexible and transparent sensor that tracks both ‘facial strain’ signals and signals from vocal vibrations. According to UNIST Assistant Manager JooHyeon Heo, internal testing by the research team found that the system “exhibited high emotional recognition accuracy with minimal training.”

HyperVerge Reaches PAD Level 2

Bengaluru-based HyperVerge has attained Presentation Attack Detection Level 2 compliance under by a testing laboratory accredited by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology, deeming its liveness detection technology compliant with the ISO 30107-1/30107-3 standard. The company’s HyperVerge ONE platform supports face-based authentication and bank account verification, and its liveness detection system operates based on a single image. CTO Vignesh Krishnakumar says his team has “not only built advanced AI-based liveness models for catching deepfaked selfies, but also developed anti-injection and anomaly detection algorithms that stop camera injections right at the source.”

–

February 22, 2024 – by Alex Perala