United Kingdom
John Lewis has become the first UK retailer to implement AI-powered age checks for online knife sales, in a move to prevent under-18s from purchasing kitchen knives.
The technology, developed by British company Yoti, uses facial age estimation to verify the buyer’s age.
Customers must consent to having their face scanned, and the AI provides a result within seconds, confirming whether the purchaser is over 18, according to The Times.
The AI, trained on millions of facial images, estimates age with 1.3-year accuracy for people aged 13-17. This ensures that a higher age threshold is applied to prevent any under-18s from being mistakenly approved.
United States
iCapital, a global FinTech platform for the wealth and asset management industries, is to acquire Parallel Markets, a reusable financial identity providing end-to-end solutions for investor onboarding.
“We are thrilled to announce the acquisition of Parallel Markets and welcome their team to the iCapital family,” said Lawrence Calcano, chairman and CEO of iCapital. “Onboarding and verifying digital investor identity and compliance is a major friction point in private market investing. Parallel Markets has pioneered software that supports a reusable investor passport, streamlining these duplicative processes for advisors, investors, and fund managers. As we continue to evolve our tech stack, we will enhance automated entry for alternative investing and leverage AI and machine learning to offer a complete, intuitive end-to-end solution. This will result in faster onboarding, reduced costs, and a more efficient investment process.”
Global
Identity verification provider Regula has expanded its Document Reader SDK to provide support for Digital Travel Credentials (DTCs), encompassing all three types defined by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). The update enables the creation and verification of digital credentials from physical documents, supports hybrid solutions combining digital and physical components, and accommodates fully digital credentials issued by authorities.
The enhanced software allows organisations to use smartphones or passport readers to create Virtual Components (DTC-VC) by reading document RFID chips.
Azerbaijan
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President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan has issued a decree activating the ‘Digital Development Concept of the Republic of Azerbaijan,’ which outlines the country’s roadmap for the development of a digital ID and digital government ecosystem.
The concept has been designed to meet three principal goals: ensure the full digitisation of the public administration by integrating advanced technologies in governance operations, advance economic development by creating a digital entrepreneurship ecosystem, as well as human capital development by promoting digital literacy and encouraging training in ICT fields relevant to the development of the country’s digital economy.
Europe
Social media accounts held in the European Union should be linked to EU Digital Identity Wallets to prevent anonymity, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez told an audience at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Sánchez proposed ending anonymity on social media, comparing anonymous posting with driving a car without carrying a licence. It provides impunity for the worst actors, while making space for bots.
Every user account should be connected to a EUDI Wallet, though the user could post under a pseudonym or nickname, he said. He also notes that this measure could help prevent children from accessing inappropriate or dangerous content.
Global
A new SNS Insider report indicates that the digital identity solutions market was valued at $32.4 billion in 2023, but is projected to grow to $142.6 billion by 2032, expanding at a CAGR of 17.90 percent over the forecast period of 2024-2032
Malaysia
Malaysian digital services company MYEG has announced a strategic collaboration with MyDigital ID (MYIDSSB) Solutions to establish a blockchain powered national digital identity ecosystem, the MyDigital ID Superapp.
The MyDigital ID Superapp will provide a solution for integrating digital identity management for commercial service providers. Built on the Malaysia Blockchain Infrastructure—a national initiative under the National research & development agency, MIMOS—the platform offers a suite of tools, including an ewallet, news broadcasting, and an open innovation software development environment for businesses and service providers to leverage MyDigital ID.
The initiative comes amid increasing calls at various China-ASEAN ministerial events for the establishment of interoperable digital standards and blockchain-based identity verification systems to safeguard online security and combat fraud.