MAY 7 | Online Age Verification and Privacy Protection: An Impossible Equation?

Join the Cyber Policy Center on May 7th from Noon–1PM Pacific with speaker Olivier Blazy, of Ecole Polytechnique, for Online Age Verification and Privacy Protection: An Impossible Equation? The session will be moderated by Florence G'sell of the Program on Governance of Emerging Technologies at the Stanford Cyber Policy Center, and is part of the Spring Seminar Series, a series spanning April through June hosted at the Cyber Policy Center. Sessions are in-person and virtual, via Zoom and streamed via YouTube, with in-person attendance offered to Stanford affiliates only. Lunch is provided for in-person attendance and registration is required. Sessions will take place in Encina Commons, Moghadam Room 123, 615 Crothers Way on Stanford Campus.

The internet, often described as a vast and unruly wilderness, presents a universal challenge: maintaining safety and order. A key concern is the protection of children online, specifically through restricting their access to sensitive content. Various methods of online age verification have been attempted, ranging from highly intrusive techniques to those that are less effective.

In this presentation, Blazy will delve into the common pitfalls associated with traditional age verification methods both in term of safety, and security, and will then introduce a new framework developed in collaboration with the French Data Protection Authority (CNIL) and PEReN. This framework utilizes readily available technologies and offers a practical implementation approach. Finally Blazy will discuss how this proof of concept not only addresses specific challenges but also aligns with current legislative measures, and expectations while contributing to a safer and more privacy-friendly digital environment. 

About the Speaker

Professor at Ecole Polytechnique, and leader of their newest Cybersecurity program, Olivier Blazy has worked in the field of cryptography for 15 years from a PhD on zero-knowledge and implicits proofs of knowledge to post quantum cryptosystems and study of real-work schemes for secure end-to-end communications. He was involved in several major projects on identity-based cryptography, and post-quantum cryptography, which lead to several submission to the NIST standardization process, including 2 (of the 3) alternative finalists. Recently, he worked with the french Data Protection Authority (CNIL) on an age verification proof of concept to serve as a baseline for guidance of new french (and hopefully european) legislation. Before joining Ecole Polytechnique as a Professor, Olivier was an assistant professor in University of Limoges, and did a post doctorate in Germany.Throughout his career, he worked with several companies and government entities to bridge the gap between cutting-edge academic cryptography and practical deployment to help solve complex challenges in securing digital communications.