The FTC is now seeking public feedback on the ESRB's proposal.
This seems... wild.
Although, it's important to keep in mind that this is in the context of COPPA consent, which already required photo ID by the parent for children under the age of 13.
Still, I cannot see this truly going well. It's smarter than just a picture, sure. But it's done by a VC-funded private company and by Epic. I'd give it about 12 minutes until archives of thousands of uploaded mini-videos for verification appear on the net, probably public because someone forgot to properly patch the web server.
However to not go all crazy on it: This also opens up the can of "How do we do smarter online age verification, anyways?". AI-based facial recognition isn't a sensible one if you ask me, but we need a better way as other countries have already ruled that simply putting in your age or clicking an "i'm 18+"-button is not legally binding and hence cannot be used as verifiable age verification.
God forbid parents take any responsibility here and admit they just need to vet games more. Why is it not mentioned in that article at all how kids are purchasing games now? There are age settings for digital purchases already, if they're set to a an adult account let's hold the parents responsible rather than punishing everyone else
Note that COPPA only covers age checks by accident basically (because it applies only to children under 13). It's more about the types of data a company can collect or make online accounts for the kid for (say an online game they want to play, even if specifically designed for children). A parent has to consent to that, in a verifiable manner.
The government is already forcing shit like this to log into the IRS website. It used to be optional, but now it's mandatory. They force you to share a picture of your photo ID, front and back, and a full facial scan, with a private company. Like what in the motherfuck dystopian bullshit is this timeline?
Bars all around cities ask for ID to drink liquor. Ideally, there could be some way we could “show” an ID, or even just the relevant portions, with no fear that the recipient is going to keep or copy it. But, such is not the current way of the world, and people have every reason to distrust data-collection mechanisms, especially by any large company.
Thinking along the line of hospitals - we do trust them with our data, usually because the data was generated there, because we visit them in person, and because doctors are essentially sacrificed at the stake if they breach HIPAA. I doubt any game company or online gambling site could ever be held to the same standard.