Onfido’s Biometric Solution Approved for Age Verification Checks in Germany

Media distributors in Germany can now use Onfido to verify the ages of people trying to gain access to age-restricted content. The decision comes courtesy of Germany’s Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media (also known as the KJM, which is short for Kommission für Jugendmedienschutz), which enforces the age verification requirements detailed in the Interstate Treaty on the Protection of Minors in the Media.

To that end, the KJM is willing to evaluate age verification solutions to see whether or not they meet the necessary technical and legal requirements. The organization’s rules state that the age check does not need to be carried out in person, and can instead be performed with software if that software is able to match a person’s biometric data with an official ID.

With its ruling, the KJM has determined that Onfido’s selfie-based identification system does indeed fulfill those requirements. The platform uses document recognition to make sure an ID is authentic, and then uses facial recognition to match a selfie (with liveness detection) to the image on that document.

To distribute age-restricted material (loosely defined as any material that could be harmful to children), German media companies need to be able to guarantee that children will not have access to any such material. Since Onfido is able to confirm someone’s age, it is now a valid way to authorize such a transaction.

In that regard, Onfido is following in the footsteps of Yoti, which has received similar approval from the German Association for Voluntary Self-Regulation of Digital Media (FSM). The FSM also evaluates age verification schemes for age-restricted websites.

The news should generate more opportunities for Onfido. The company’s award-winning solution has become increasingly popular with enterprise-level customers, with Deliveroo and MyCash Money standing as some of the most recent additions to its client roster.

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October 27, 2020 – by Eric Weiss