LOS ANGELES — While adult websites prepare for the U.K.’s Digital Economy Act and its age verification mandate, AV service provider AgeGO is reminding site owners that the DEA extends to all commercial digital platforms that contain adult-oriented content targeting the U.K.
According to Nomura Instinet, the online dating market is estimated to be worth $12 billion with 310 million people actively using at least one dating platform by 2020.
“As technology has evolved, so have the dating platforms, using ever more sophisticated algorithms to help people match with potential partners and geolocation to find partners nearby,” says an AgeGO spokesperson. “The market is already crowded with user growth seen in niche dating products.”
The dating market can be broken down into three categories, with revenues driven by subscription models and subscription or freemium models supported by digital ads.
Dating Apps
These are native applications and are subject to Google and Apple rules which state no naked content can be shown in user profiles, therefore apps are not subject to having age verification technology — a simple date of birth verification is all that is required without requiring any form of proven age identification.
Romance Dating Sites
Considered as dating platforms that help users find true love, these websites do not allow users to show nude content in their profiles. Many dating websites also have iOS and Android apps giving users two ways to access the platform and again a simple date of birth verification is all that is required.
Adult Dating Sites
Considered as casual dating websites for sexual encounters, these websites do contain naked images and X-rated profile texts and therefore contain 18+ content and will be subject to age verification as demanded by the U.K.’s Digital Economy Act. Advertisers and affiliates promoting offers to these websites will also have to ensure that their offer landing pages incorporate age verification technology.
To address evolving compliance issues, AgeGO now provides an AV solution for adult dating sites and those who promote them.
“If you run an adult dating website with U.K. users or you are an advertiser/affiliate targeting U.K. users to purchase adult dating products, AgeGO is the age verification solution for you,” the spokesperson explains. “For users, some verification services charge a fee [but] AgeGO is free, quick and totally anonymous.”
“For businesses, AgeGO is simple to implement on our self-service platform,” the spokesperson concludes. “Businesses can brand the age verification widget to personalize it and we take care of the whole verification process for you, so you can get on with running your business.”
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