Argentina: Issued Joint Statement on a Common International Approach to Age Assurance

On 19 September 2024, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, the Information Commissioner's Office of the United Kingdom, the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority, the National Privacy Commission of the Philippines, the Agencia de Acceso a la Información Pública of Argentina, and the Transparency, Public Information Access and Personal Data Protection Institute of State of Mexico and Municipalities (INFOEM) issued a Joint Statement on a Common International Approach to Age Assurance. The Joint Statement sets out shared principles for age verification methods in online services, emphasising data protection and privacy. The Joint Statement highlights the need for providers to verify users’ ages to protect children from inappropriate content and data misuse. The principles stress that data collection for age assurance must be lawful, fair, transparent, and limited to the necessary information. Further, providers are urged to adopt a risk-based, proportionate approach. They also underscore the importance of ongoing collaboration and innovation in age assurance technologies, recommending alternatives like parental filters and education alongside technical solutions.