FTC Issues Policy Statement to Incentivise Age Verification Technologies
Guardii Analysis
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission issued a policy statement on February 25, 2026, to incentivise the use of age verification technologies to protect children online, as part of ongoing updates to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Rule, which imposes requirements on operators of websites or online services directed to children under 13 years of age and on operators with actual knowledge that they are collecting personal information from a child under 13.
Age verification confirms who is permitted to create an account but does not address what happens to a child once they are on a platform, whether through a parent-approved account, by misrepresenting their age, or because a predator contacted them directly. Guardii operates independently of account-level age assurance, scanning the pattern and content of direct-message conversations in real time across Instagram, Snapchat, Discord and Roblox to detect grooming, sextortion and CSAM regardless of the child's declared age, intercepting harm at the point of contact rather than relying on the accuracy of information provided during registration, and surfacing a child in crisis to a parent or safeguarding professional even when the child is using a platform with parental consent under COPPA-compliant procedures.