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The ESRB wants to start using facial recognition to check people's ages

Spyxos

Member
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Remember a couple years ago, when Chinese gaming giant Tencent began using facial recognition to keep the kids from playing too many videogames? It turns out that the Entertainment Software Rating Board, North America's videogame rating agency, is looking to do something quite similar.

The ESRB, along with digital identity company Yoti and Epic Games-owned "youth digital media" company SuperAwesome, have filed a proposal with the FTC seeking approval for a new "verifiable parental consent mechanism" called Privacy-Protective Facial Age Estimation. Simply put, the parent takes a selfie, assisted by an "auto face capture module," which is then analyzed by the system to ensure it's the face of an adult, who can then grant whatever permissions are required. The entire process of verification takes less than a second "on average," and images are permanently deleted after the verification is complete.

"The upload of still images is not accepted, and photos that do not meet the required level of quality to create an age estimate are rejected," the filing states. "These factors minimize the risk of circumvention and of children taking images of unaware adults."

It's important to note that none of this is proposed as a replacement for current systems: Instead, the ESRB presented its facial recognition plan as "an additional, optional verification method" that will be of particular use to people who don't have photo ID. So that's a good thing, at least.

The ESRB actually made its request to the FTC back on June 2, but it's only come to light now (via GamesIndustry) because the FTC is now seeking public comment on the plan. If you'd like to share your thoughts, you've got until August 21 to do so at federalregister.gov.

 

Toots

Gold Member
In France the child president said about the last riots (which started because a cop killed a 17 yo unarmed dude), we need "order, order, order".
Western civilisation cannot die quickly enough (the current neoliberal imperialistic Chinese society is a western one in all its prevalent traits to me)
 

RJMacready73

Simps for Amouranth
It would be absolutely hilarious if that software failed to recognize ages correctly for some facial types (eg asian).
Because that's how these facial recognition softwares usually work - really well on some facial types, really badly on others.
tbf if the Chinese government can get this to work at scale on their citizens who ahem look mighty similar to one another when looking at a crowd then this will be wee buns for us westerners
 

TheSHEEEP

Gold Member
tbf if the Chinese government can get this to work at scale on their citizens who ahem look mighty similar to one another when looking at a crowd then this will be wee buns for us westerners
You show some pretty question worthy stances here saying "they all look the same".
They might look the same to you, not to each other. To them, we all look the same.

The truth is, no "race" looks the same, the differences are just in very different areas we are naturally "trained" to spot as we grow up (or not in case we don't see it that often).
And the same holds true for recognition software - for example, there have been a lot of cases for caucasian or african/african american/etc. people in China or Japan where the local recognition software eg in banking terminals couldn't "deal with them" properly and they had to get staff to help. Imagine how awkward that must've been for everyone involved.
 
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Holammer

Member
So the system won't accept still images? Sounds like a minor engineering challenge tbh. With AI being able to do temporarily stable animations from stills now.
Knowing Epic, they are pushing for this because they have the infrastructure and technology to sell.
 

RavenSan

Off-Site Inflammatory Member
I feel like a lot of you aren't reading the OP:

Simply put, the parent takes a selfie, assisted by an "auto face capture module," which is then analyzed by the system to ensure it's the face of an adult, who can then grant whatever permissions are required. The entire process of verification takes less than a second "on average," and images are permanently deleted after the verification is complete.

So this is basically an optional parental control -- not a mandatory ESRB check on every game on every system. No different to FaceID on a phone, I suppose. I'm not opposed to that option on consoles/PCs -- but I probably wouldn't use it personally.
 

lh032

I cry about Xbox and hate PlayStation.
i can imagine most asian gamers would be considered under age then.
 

Loomy

Thinks Microaggressions are Real
This is something that exists already outside of China. It is also fucked up. But then again, a whole bunch of us use our faces to unlock our phones.
 

TheSHEEEP

Gold Member
Serious question but what's to stop someone from simply holding up a picture?
You can tell relatively easily if someone is holding up a picture.

Unless of course, you hold it up in the perfect spot, have no light reflection, etc.
But even then, this kind of software can take multiple images in short succession and that kind of "frame show" would usually reveal that it is a photo.
Either by the image moving around, or actually there not being any change at all - both would be giveaways.

In other words, you might be able to fool a very bad facial recognition that way, but not a more advanced one.

Now, if that software wants to use your webcam or camera and you make it supply a fake "live" video instead, that should do the trick.
But that is of course a more advanced thing to do likely beyond most users' capabilities.
 
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StereoVsn

Member
I feel like a lot of you aren't reading the OP:

Simply put, the parent takes a selfie, assisted by an "auto face capture module," which is then analyzed by the system to ensure it's the face of an adult, who can then grant whatever permissions are required. The entire process of verification takes less than a second "on average," and images are permanently deleted after the verification is complete.

So this is basically an optional parental control -- not a mandatory ESRB check on every game on every system. No different to FaceID on a phone, I suppose. I'm not opposed to that option on consoles/PCs -- but I probably wouldn't use it personally.
I trust Tim Apple on the fact that FaceTime evaluation is on the phone itself and that Apple doesn't upload biometric data into iCloud.

I have 0 trust into whatever the outfit that's doing this to properly delete and not keep the data since it's not evaluated on phone itself.

That's a lot of trust to give out to random organization and even more random tech company behind the app.
 

yurinka

Member
George Orwell approves this

I trust Tim Apple on the fact that FaceTime evaluation is on the phone itself and that Apple doesn't upload biometric data into iCloud.
The operative systems and apps of Apple, Microsoft, Google or Facebook to name a few have dozens of backdoors for dozens of intelligence agencies of several countries (USA and USA allies) to get whatever they want. That obviously includes access to your cameras and microphones.
 
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StereoVsn

Member
George Orwell approves this


The operative systems and apps of Apple, Microsoft, Google or Facebook to name a few have dozens of backdoors for dozens of intelligence agencies of several countries (USA and USA allies) to get whatever they want. That obviously includes access to your cameras and microphones.
Sure, but I also have a nice tinfoil hat to protect myself. There is being cautious and there is this.

As an example, Apple is threatening to pull Facetime and iMessage from UK if they proceed with their current "But think if the children" encryption backdoor bill.
 

RavenSan

Off-Site Inflammatory Member
I trust Tim Apple on the fact that FaceTime evaluation is on the phone itself and that Apple doesn't upload biometric data into iCloud.

I have 0 trust into whatever the outfit that's doing this to properly delete and not keep the data since it's not evaluated on phone itself.

That's a lot of trust to give out to random organization and even more random tech company behind the app.
Yeah me either -- like I said, I likely wouldn't use it -- but I also don't care what other people do with their likeness/privacy/etc. If parents want this kind of thing, good for them.
 
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