Tantum and youth protection in adult entertainment
Complete solution for AVS will soon be essential
They have been around for decades in the cinema, at the gym and even in every supermarket. However, no cross-industry regulation has yet been established on the Internet. We are talking about an age verification system. Erotic providers in particular often attract negative attention and are thus targeted by regulatory authorities. And not without reason: free erotic sites like Pornhub or xHamster are among the most popular websites in Germany. But the lesser-known providers can also be found in this list. According to an evaluation by Similarweb (top websites in Germany), more people are interested in xHamster than in Netflix, Twitch or Tagesschau.
It illustrates how important child protection is in the digital age. Because every second young person aged 13 has already had contact with sexual media content (University of Hohenheim – press release). However, the idea of constantly showing your ID card does not provide any advantages for both operators and users. Users fear losing anonymity. Content providers see this as a significant drop in traffic and sales.
Tantum proves that both of these concerns are unfounded. The patented overall solution has already been positively assessed by the Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media (KJM) (KJM evaluates another concept for age verification positively). The concept offers numerous advantages for both companies and users. Thanks to Tantum, the former have a legally secure and regularly updated age verification system (AVS). Users, on the other hand, retain the usual anonymity and quick access to the content.
Platforms rely on honesty
Authorities, on the other hand, are calling for regulations
If video platforms or websites make content available, they are responsible for it. In accordance with Section 4 Paragraph 2 Sentence 2 of the State Treaty on the Protection of Minors in the Media (JMStV), you are obliged to ensure that pornographic content is only accessible to users of legal age. Only very few providers take on this responsibility.
Children and young people can currently switch from their favorite cartoon to the erotic page with just a few clicks. And as more and more people own their own smartphones, the likelihood of this scenario increases. If you land on an adult platform, the AVS often looks like this: The question is asked whether you are of legal age or not. If you click “YES”, you will have access to adult content in seconds. Such a query has obvious weaknesses. This is exactly why supervisory authorities like the KJM criticize this easy access to 18+ content. Your requirement: An AVS must be installed for every access. This is the only way to verify users and protect minors.
Germany is leading the way and the EU is following suit
AVS soon to be a Europe-wide requirement?
An AVS has long been part of everyday business for German providers, but at the European level everything points to an upcoming AVS requirement. The European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services (ERGA) is committed to this. It is an advisory body that supports the EU in the implementation and application of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD).
The chairman of the ERGA is Dr. Tobias Schmid (no-person-no-porn), who also holds the position of director of the State Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia. He has been campaigning for stricter control of erotic portals on the Internet for years. His demand: Adult platforms must also adhere to youth media protection. If you don't do this, you could face legal trouble. Proceedings have already been initiated against several portals. The regulatory wind is therefore becoming harsher for all erotic market participants. The sooner platforms deal with AVS integration, the higher their competitive advantage can be in the future.
Age verification requirements
Tension inevitable: sexual preferences in a legal context
Some of the major erotic platforms have already established age verification. In most cases this is a partial solution ( Regulatory perspective: partial or complete solution?). However, the KJM views this critically. Opening an account usually looks like this: New users contact a call center employee via video chat. This compares the identification documents and issues approval. Once users are verified, they are part of a “closed group”. This expression stands for user categorization as part of age verification on the Internet. For example, only members of the closed group are allowed to access certain content.
The catch with such a partial solution: Once the account has been created and the owner has been approved, no further verification takes place. The user can pass on the access data to underage third parties without any problems. In this way, data misuse is made easier. Erotic platforms are threatened with legal trouble. Another and often neglected problem is the massive impairment of the user journey. The consumption of erotic content is a sensitive topic for many people. Disclosing this plan to a call center employee is a deterrent. And that's not all: the KJM requires age verification that even goes one step further. Every time you log in, the person has to be verified again and their age checked.
Legal loopholes are becoming smaller
The goal should be anonymous and secure access
Platforms that distribute FSK 18 content and do not meet youth protection requirements are considered harmful to minors. Germany is an important pacesetter in this context. And the EU often follows the German model. A company headquarters in Holland, for example, will soon no longer be able to save operators from stricter regulations. You have to accept sanctions or the risk of being completely blocked.
So that things don't get that far for adult platforms, the AVS grid (Technical_Youth Media Protection-KJM) the KJM provides a framework for age verification. The platform must ensure user verification in two interrelated steps:
Step #1: The person must be identified and determined to be of legal age.
Step #2: Authentication must take place with every new login.
According to KJM, once the person is verified, they can only receive a one-time key to access the platform. If you log in again, verification must take place again. Applied to the call center example, it means the following: All users have to identify themselves each time and have them verified in a video call. An effort that the users will not like as much as the platforms.
To prevent this from happening, Tantum has developed a one-stop solution. It makes these re-verification processes quick and user-friendly while remaining fully KJM compliant. Platforms benefit from flexible pricing, security and users from uncomplicated verification options and anonymous age verification.
AVS from TantumPay
Users and platforms benefit
Due to advancing digitalization, youth protection measures will tend to be strengthened in the future. This increases the complexity of the specifications and thus also the challenges for companies. Tantum has therefore tailored a system that addresses exactly this problem. The solution is completely digital and can be used anytime, anywhere. Human intervention in the verification – for example by a call center employee – is unnecessary.
User identification occurs using the TantumPay app. A patented AI technology scans the ID document and compares it based on liveness detection and biometric data. Direct contact with an external employee is no longer necessary. This saves companies money because they no longer have to pay verification teams. And users, in turn, avoid possible embarrassment through personal contact with a call center employee.
Age verification is completely anonymous: An additional security layer from Tantum makes passing on personal data to the erotic platform unnecessary. A connection to the respective website will not be directly visible anywhere. Tantum takes care of the age confirmation and authentication and only provides information that the respective user is actually of legal age; no personal data of the user is passed on to the erotic site.
Even if 1,000 verifications are pending at the same time, the algorithms complete the effort in just a few moments. Tantum's solution can be easily scaled and therefore adapted to the respective platform. Waiting times at a call center are now a thing of the past. Repeat logins simply require scanning a QR code using the TantumPay app. Such an overall solution reduces the bounce rate and increases loyalty to the respective provider. Tantum's goal is to give users control over their personal data while maintaining their anonymity.
The high number of hits on erotic sites demonstrate a strong interest in sexual content within our society. Tantum helps maintain the anonymity and intimacy of users and protect minors.
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