The age verification system proposed by the AEPD receives two awards at the Global Privacy Assembly

The age verification system proposed by the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) to protect children and adolescents on the internet has been recognised with two of the five awards of the 46th Global Privacy Assembly, which brings together data protection and privacy authorities globally.

The Agency has received the awards in the Innovation and Public Award categories, the latter being selected from among the shortlisted candidates in each of the categories. These awards aim to recognise the excellence and innovation of the good practices put in place by the Authorities.

In December 2023, the Spanish Data Protection Agency presented a proposal for a system for verifying age and protecting minors on the internet from access to adult content, demonstrating that it is technically possible to protect minors from access to inappropriate content while ensuring the anonymity of adults when browsing the internet. The system consists of a Decalogue setting out the principles to be complied with by an age verification system, a technical note with the details of the project and three proofs of concept executed on Android, iPhone and Windows. This is complemented by a graph showing the risks of the age verification systems they currently use.

The Global Privacy Assembly has assessed the innovative nature of this proposal, which has had a significant impact at international level, giving it, in addition to the Innovation Award, the Public Award. The objective of this development of the Agency is to demonstrate that a guarantee system can be built that only confirms the attribute of majority, demonstrating that there is no need to establish dedicated parallel digital identity services for access to adult content and thus separate the identity of individuals from age verification.

The two awards this year awarded to the Agency by its counterpart authorities around the world add to the 31 AEPD awards that the AEPD has received in recent years for its initiatives to protect people in a digital world.

The Global Privacy Assembly is a global annual forum where independent privacy, data protection and freedom of information supervisory authorities adopt high-level resolutions and recommendations addressed to governments and international organisations. Similarly, its vision is to maintain an environment in which privacy and data protection authorities around the world can act effectively to fulfil their mandates, both individually and in a concerted manner, by disseminating knowledge and supporting connections.

In the previous edition of these prizes (2023), the Agency was recognised with the Global Privacy Assembly’s Priority Channel Prize ‘Conflict Resolution – Law Enforcement’, recognising its value as an effective tool for the swift removal of content published online in situations where the physical and psychological integrity of the individuals concerned is seriously jeopardised.