Discord Begins Testing Facial Recognition Scans For Age Verification

Discord has begun testing age verification via facial scans or ID uploads for users in the UK and Australia seeking access to sensitive content. "The chat app's new process has been described as an 'experiment,' and comes in response to laws passed in those countries that place guardrails on youth access to online platforms," reports Gizmodo. From the report: Users may be asked to verify their age when encountering content that has been flagged by Discord's systems as being sensitive in nature, or when they change their settings to enable access to sensitive content. The app will ask users to scan their face through a computer or smartphone webcam; alternatively, they can scan a driver's license or other form of ID. "We're currently running tests in select regions to age-gate access to certain spaces or user settings," a spokesperson for Discord said in a statement. "The information shared to power the age verification method is only used for the one-time age verification process and is not stored by Discord or our vendor. For Face Scan, the solution our vendor uses operates on-device, which means there is no collection of any biometric information when you scan your face. For ID verification, the scan of your ID is deleted upon verification."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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