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[IP] more on Age Verification Technology



------ Forwarded Message
From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren@xxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2005 09:43:13 -0800
To: <dave@xxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: <lauren@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [IP] more on Age Verification Technology

Dave,

Making the unlikely assumption that such technology would be widely
accepted, I wonder how long it would be before:

   a) commercially-designed fake adult and child fingers
      were available aimed at fooling the systems

   and...

   b) instructions were floating around the Net on ways to
      construct your own

There are a lot of bright kids under age 13 out there, including
some who may be looking for a new hobby.

--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
lauren@xxxxxxxx or lauren@xxxxxxxxxx or lauren@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
http://www.pfir.org/lauren
Co-Founder, PFIR - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
Co-Founder, Fact Squad - http://www.factsquad.org
Co-Founder, URIICA - Union for Representative International Internet
                     Cooperation and Analysis - http://www.uriica.org
Moderator, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com


 - - -   

> 
> ------ Forwarded Message
> From: "Andy.Sullivan@xxxxxxxxxxx" <Andy.Sullivan@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2005 10:22:19 -0500
> To: <dave@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: [IP] more on Age Verification Technology
> 
> 
> Dave, for IP:
> 
> I had a chance to kick the tires on this i-Mature technology last night at
> the Congressional Internet Caucus tech fair. It's a metal device that looks
> sort of like a vise or a minature lemon squeezer -- it measures a segment of
> your middle finger when you make a fist. It successfully identified me as
> over 18 years old. Shmuel Levin, the comany's president and CEO,
> demonstrated the device to me. It can't measure your age exactly, but lumps
> you into one of three categories -- under 13, between 13 and 18, and 18 and
> over.
> 
> Because of its inexact nature it won't work for keeping kids out of porn
> sites, or any other application in which you need a hard "under 18/over 18"
> bright line. But Mr. Levin said it should work at keeping adults (over 18)
> out of chat rooms designated for kids 13 and younger.
> 
> There are several hurdles to commercial success, as they'd have to convince
> chat rooms to require this identifier and the chat rooms would have to
> convince every visitor to buy one. I don't know if the kids' chatroom market
> is robust enough for that.
> 
> But it did peg me as being over 18, for what that's worth, and I can attest
> that Shmuel Levin and Uri Levin do exist.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Andy Sullivan
> Reporter, Reuters America Inc.
> andy.sullivan@xxxxxxxxxxx
> 
> 
> 
> 
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