Age verification arrives on the Second Life grid (updated)
Filed under: Betas, Patches, News items, Second Life
Age verification is now in beta on the Second Life grid. We think it's called Age Verification, anyway. It's undergone a couple name changes since inception. Initially, Linden Lab were calling it Age Verification, then Identity Verification (IDV) and now we're back to Age Verification again.
We're not really very sure if it is going to change its name again. There are a few things, though, that we do know ...
- Age Verification isn't so much about verifying your age/identity. The company that is operating the service (Aristotle/Integrity) provides a number of identity-related services, but in this case, it appears that the function they're providing is professional insurance against lawsuits. The verification step appears to simply be one of the prerequisites to that insurance. Fundamentally, probably nobody at the business end cares if your information is true or false or belongs to you. Once you enter it, asses are covered.
- Verification is indeed optional. The only reason you'd need to be verified is if you want to access a restricted parcel/estate.
- Restricting parcels/estates is optional. According to Robin Harper at Linden Lab, during the open-ended beta phase there's no requirement for you to flag land or estates as restricted. This is a reversal from the restricting-parcels/estates-is-mandatory position, but makes sense considering that this is a live beta. At the end of the beta phase, we expect restriction of parcels/estates with mature content to become mandatory again.
- Aristotle/Integrity (the verification provider) doesn't store your data - that's so. They claim to already have all your ID numbers (passports, drivers licenses, SSNs and so forth), name and address already. Your data is matched against what they already have on file.
- Linden Lab isn't storing the data either - it gets sent straight on to Aristotle/Integrity who send back a pass or a fail, which is the only bit Linden Lab really needs or uses.
- Verification verifies the data you feed it - not the person providing it. The only link between that information and you is a checkbox at the bottom of the form that reads "The information that I am providing is true and correct, and I consent to its verification against public records or government-issued identification."
- Aristotle/Integrity may not have your information. I'm Australian, and they appear to have neither my passport or my driver's license on file - so I guess, tough ... I'm out of luck unless I use a third-party's credentials to verify with. So I'm left with two options: Don't verify, or lie.
Update: A colleague of mine (in Australia) from another news outlet just provided his details, but with a false date-of-birth, and got immediate verification. I'd say that Aristotle/Integrity's database is far from complete. It seems to be missing data (eg: Mine) and does not contain complete and accurate information for the types of ID which it does have.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-06-2007 @ 1:51AM
dandellion Kimban said...
It smells like somebody's going to be ashamed about this....
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12-06-2007 @ 2:41AM
Daman Tenk said...
Doesn't work for Belgium with neither kind of identity.
Fuck Linden Labs. At least I know the adult areas I visit will use AgeLock instead of Linden's bullshit.
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12-06-2007 @ 3:02AM
Tateru Nino said...
I don't believe they will have the option once the beta ends. Flagging parcels with mature content is supposed to be mandatory at the end of the beta. Whether or not you _also_ use agelock, you'll be required to use the parcel restriction system as well.
That is how we've been told it will work.
12-06-2007 @ 3:12AM
Daman Tenk said...
Tateru: in that case I know Linden Labs will lose 1200 US $ in tier for only those few sims I visit already ;)
This is just another proof Linden Labs are Amero-centric nazis who are trying to purify the grid of what in their eyes are second-rate people: Europeans.
All stand up and sing the anthem while enjoying your purified All-English Grid ;)
12-06-2007 @ 3:26AM
Tateru Nino said...
Well, I for one can't verify. I've tried my driver's license and my passport. I think it's technically unlawful for me to send that information to an overseas third-party - so I should probably not try any harder.
The stuff in the manual verification process, I *definitely* know is unlawful for me to send to them. It may be different in other countries.
I might poke it again in a week or so and see if it's any better.
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12-06-2007 @ 5:05AM
dandellion Kimban said...
Now this is interesting. You cannot verufy while some other people verify with false data. :) It will be hilarious in a month or two, I tell you.
Other thing, flagging will be mandatory when system exit beta, but so far nobody said what is considered mature enough to be flagged. And what we all got from blogposts and Robin's speaking, LL is not going to make it clear. Which is ok. Pardon... Which MIGHT be ok. If one doesn't get purist witchhunters behind the back and keep decent place for regular (and probably internaly checked/trusted) clientele, everything will be fine. But, Iit just might be that way.... it also might be that we all just pack our things and go playing (at least parts of) our lives somewhere else.
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12-06-2007 @ 5:10AM
Tateru Nino said...
We asked that question earlier this year, and already have an answer. A parcel needs to be flagged if it contains non PG content.
Not all parcels in mature sims actually *have* mature content (for example, mine don't) and thus don't need to be flagged.
So - a mature sim *can* (but does not have to) contain parcels that may contain mature content or activities. A PG sim can *never* have a parcel with mature content or activities. Any parcel with mature content or activities must be flagged.
12-06-2007 @ 6:25AM
dandellion Kimban said...
Yes, back then (http://blog.secondlife.com/2007/09/18/identity-verification-and-flagging-parcels-for-restricted-content/) it was described as AO or R-rated movies..... Never midnd that thowe two are not the same... there is a huge gray zone between them and clear (also known as PG in second life)
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12-06-2007 @ 8:53AM
Hollywood Ron said...
Well, looks like it's I Am Legend Survivor only for me, unless they make me verify to kill mutants, too. No more exploring.
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12-06-2007 @ 9:30AM
dandellion Kimban said...
No more exploring underground clubs?
Or just going deeper underground? :D
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12-06-2007 @ 12:32PM
Ari said...
I'm wondering how to handle it...
I have a sim where I sell parcels. Some of the parcels are okay for non-flagging (no mature content) - but others are, including mine.
So, in that case, I won;t flag the estate. Rather, I'll allow each parcel owner to flag their own parcel - including myself.
The problem is this... the default landing point in a SIM is dead-center. So if you simply type in the name of my SIM in map (search field) and hit teleport - you land in the center of mys sim - which is the center of my parcel with will need to be flagged.
So - what happenens to those people who simply enter the sim name into map and hit the TP button? Not everyone TPs directly to other parcels on the island.
The only solution is to force a landing point that isn't flagged and then everyone will have to go to their chosen location from there. Personally I *hate* that when it happens to me. I really don't want to force it on anyone else.
Oh the headaches LOL
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12-06-2007 @ 1:40PM
Daman Tenk said...
"I'm wondering how to handle it..."
I'm handling it by not flagging, and already preparing to leave should some retarded fuckhead force me to flag anyway.
I'm really beginning to get pissed off at the constant anti-European discrimination of Linden Labs.
12-07-2007 @ 10:34AM
Nicholaz Beresford said...
Tateru,
I'm not sure if they are having the data. Years back in German I was looking into that area and most age verifyers were asking for the ID number from personal ID card. That number had the date of birth coded somewhere in the number, so they aristotele may use a similar approach.
I guess their checks are more basic ... like if you are able to provide a valid passport number (doing a basic check if the number is correct) and assuming that only 18+ have passports, you'll get verified.
And of course it's only ass-covering. LL can say they are using state of the art verification, and if state of the art sucks, that may still be enough for court.
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12-07-2007 @ 10:49AM
Tateru Nino said...
It could well be - my driver's license and passport numbers predate electronic records storage. The original numbers were typed. On cardboard. Chosen sequentially, of course.
I still have those numbers today on the most recent incarnations of the documents, though renewals have seen technological advances in the materials. I doubt the numbers will give Aristo/Integ any clues.
And of course the local government offices insist that there's no way Aristo/Integ could possibly have my data to match against.
12-07-2007 @ 11:05AM
Nicholaz Beresford said...
I was just looking for the German personal ID card numbers again. Basically they consist of three parts: serial, date of birth, expiration, each with one simple checksum digit and the whole has a checksum digit too. (run the following link through a translator: http://www.pruefziffernberechnung.de/P/Personalausweis-DE.shtml )
Everybody with a bit of technical knowledge can compute these and I would be zero surprised if Tateru Nino, living on an existing street in city with valid zip code and a self computed ID would pass. Probably even a wholly fake address like Welcome Center, Apt. 1 in 91234 Ahern would do.
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12-07-2007 @ 4:00PM
Ciaran Laval said...
Driving licence and passport number are suggested information according to the Integrity data coverage map:
http://integrity.aristotle.com/content/view/113/145/
This probably explains why a lot of people can't verify, if they had this information it wouldn't be a suggested check, it would be mandatory.
In concierge beta you could verify without that information. However LL probably (and rightly) feel that being able to verify with just name, address and postal/zip code isn't very trustworthy. However now we have the new problem of people not being able to verify at all.
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12-07-2007 @ 5:45PM
Gwyneth Llewelyn said...
To the best of my knowledge, in Europe, and outside of the UK (no data yet), no one is able to validate automatically. The data is either not there (I would be very surprised if it were!) or it's impossible to figure out exactly what to type.
On the other hand, there is now enough anedoctal evidence that in the US the reverse applies: most people can get validated with "fake data". Many found out by accident, ie. misspelling names and/or address data. Then they moved on to deliberately typing in fake data. Most people had no problem to get automatically validated that way.
Someone has already mentioned that the next step is to sell validated avatars on eBay. Finally there is a good argument to sell avatars! Just make sure you live in the US or are using a public proxy server in the US (LL can guess where you come from by looking at the IP address making the request), create an alt, and put it on sale on eBay...
I fear that this whole business is slowly getting out of hand. I was expecting that Integrity/Aristotle's database would be far more complete (aren't they professional data harvesting experts?...) and that the issue would be mostly social (ie. if this makes any sense or not) and less technical. But it's both. The system doesn't work (technically speaking) and it doesn't do what it's suppose to do (keep minors out of the grid).
In fact, if I had any doubts about it, I'm now pretty sure that this is really just LL buying lawsuit insurance from Integrity/Aristotle and nothing else — a smokescreen to make LL immune to any organisation claiming that they're letting minors look at pornography and willing to go on court for that. And nothing else.
Oh, and for the record, manual validation works flawlessly and is pretty quick. I now wonder if LL will hand out my documents to Integrity/Aristotle :)
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12-07-2007 @ 7:53PM
Ciaran Laval said...
Gwyneth the issue is that I doubt very much whether Integrity/Aristotle have ever tried worldwide verification and now they are found wanting.
The required info works in a locality, it doesn't work worldwide and when the suggested info is mandatory, Integrity/Aristotle simply cannot confirm that info.
The idea that they ever had the passport/Driving licence/ Social security numbers of people in 157 countries always seemed ludicrous to me, that would be a major breach of data protection.
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12-07-2007 @ 8:23PM
dandellion Kimban said...
I wonder if I have to sell those verified accounts on eBay, or I can somehow place them in in-world vendors? Shape, skin, eyes and prim hair included. :)
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12-09-2007 @ 9:26PM
Sean Heying said...
As an Australian I had no problems verifying with my real drivers license and accurate details on 8 of my 10 characters.
One I tried a false birthdate with and it failed.
One will remain unverified to test.
I have verified for another reason, in SL I am a Kid, I am also sick of being threatened with AR for being underage (believe me I'm not) Carrying a verified tag might make the haters leave me alone.
If anyone wishes to test the stupidity of Age Verification head into my national park sim Rlyeh and at the base of the mountain near the canon is a 16M2 parcel, verify locked, with what could be broadly offensive porn in it.
Think of the children as they stand right next to, millimeters away, looking at it.
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