IDnow has secured another boost to its pan-European operations after receiving regulatory approval in Germany for its AI-based age verification solution, IDCheck.io.
The solution has been approved for use in Germany by the country’s Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media (KJM). This builds on the regulator’s green lighting of the Munich firms VideoIdent, AutoIdent, IDnow eID and the IDnow Wallet products.
Under German federal regulations – specifically the Interstate Treaty on the Protection of Minors in the Media (Jugendmedienschutz-Staatsvertrag, JMStV) – certain ‘unsuitable content’ can only be distributed to adult user groups. IDnow aims to assist companies with holding this compliance standard.
“There are corners of the internet that contain content best unseen by child or adolescent eyes,” said Rayissa Armata, Director Global Regulatory & Government Affairs at IDnow.
“However, curious young minds will often go searching for these, so there needs to be a method of gatekeeping on these websites that goes beyond asking a user to simply click a button to confirm or deny their adult status, which is what the KJM stands for in Germany.
“With IDCheck.io, IDnow is pleased to offer yet another solution for online age verification, which has been rated positively by the KJM. With our broad range of identity verification methods, IDnow remains a strong partner for the protection of minors, especially in the gaming and gambling space.”
Products age-gated by the KJM include adult-rated video and browser games, as well as gambling offers and pornography. IDnow’s solution has now been added to a KJM list of evaluated age verification systems which require German legal standards.
Ensuring age-verification compliance with regards to gambling products has taken on increased importance in Germany since 2021, the year in which the country adopted new industry regulations under the Fourth Interstate Gambling Treaty (GlüNeuRStv).
This has included a number of player protection caveats, including age verification requirements. Compliance with these rules is enforced by a newly created national regulatory body, the Gluecksspiel (GGL).
Meanwhile, approval for its age checking solution in German marks further international growth for IDnow, particularly in the gaming space, building on the enhancement of its security offering in Brazil in September 2023, ahead of presidential sign-off on federal gaming regulation in the country.
