{"rewrite":{"id":"r_d66dfc3b9d9e7f503ae90e7d","clusterId":"c_411e3bf069525587d5f40631","slug":"gamescom-session-weighs-age-assurance-that-fails-and-in-game-grooming","model":"deepseek-v4-flash","headline":"gamescom Session Weighs Age Assurance That Fails and In-Game Grooming","summary":"At gamescom dev, a session on grooming and extremism on gaming platforms argued that age verification at registration is not enough. Speakers Carolyn Fox of TELUS Digital and Hege Tokerud of Aiba described how children borrow accounts or IDs to slip through, and how gradual manipulation, from small requests to rule-breaking, can lead to grooming or recruitment to crime. They called for continuous behavior monitoring.","whyItMatters":"The session frames child safety as a matter of ongoing behavior detection and human review, not a one-time gate, because children routinely bypass age verification by using borrowed accounts.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eAt gamescom dev, the session \u0026#34;What Happens When Age Assurance Fails\u0026#34; did not treat age verification as a single locked door. Carolyn Fox, who leads Trust \u0026amp; Safety at TELUS Digital, and Hege Tokerud, co-founder of the Norwegian AI company Aiba, described the gap between a verified account and the person actually using it.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChildren borrow identification or accounts from parents and older siblings, sometimes without the owner\u0026#39;s knowledge. The age confirmed at entry is not necessarily the age of the user. Both speakers argued that platforms must watch behavior before and after registration, spotting the gradual manipulation that leads to grooming or recruitment to fraud. The session also noted a rise in new VPN registrations from the UK after regulations took effect, though the purpose of that use is not clear.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"gamescom dev session: age verification at signup is not a gate. Kids borrow accounts, and grooming starts with small requests. The answer is continuous behavior monitoring plus human review.","twitterPost":"gamescom dev: age verification fails when kids borrow accounts. TELUS Digital and Aiba argue for continuous behavior monitoring, not a one-time gate.","threadsPost":null,"newsletterBlurb":"A gamescom dev session argued that age verification at registration is not enough to protect minors, since children borrow accounts and IDs to get in. The speakers, from TELUS Digital and Aiba, called for continuous behavior monitoring and human review to catch grooming and recruitment.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"4Gamer.net\",\"url\":\"https://www.4gamer.net/games/991/G999110/20260826040/\",\"title\":\"How Do We Protect Children Who Slip Through Age Verification? Considering In-Game Grooming and Recruitment to Crime from the Frontlines of Technology and Operations [gamescom]\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":4553,"outputTokens":569,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1787925484,"createdAt":"2026-08-28T13:50:35.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-08-28T13:51:44.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-28T13:50:35.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_411e3bf069525587d5f40631","canonicalTitle":"年齢確認を“すり抜けた”子どもをどう守るのか。ゲーム内のグルーミングや犯罪への勧誘を，技術と運用の現場から考える［gamescom］","representativeArticleId":"a_a4e51f07ca74a2c362e3b903","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[],\"studios\":[],\"people\":[],\"type\":\"news\",\"domain\":\"games\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-08-26T07:37:29.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-08-26T07:37:29.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-28T13:51:46.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"4Gamer.net","url":"https://www.4gamer.net/games/991/G999110/20260826040/","title":"年齢確認を“すり抜けた”子どもをどう守るのか。ゲーム内のグルーミングや犯罪への勧誘を，技術と運用の現場から考える［gamescom］"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":[],"studios":[],"people":[],"type":"news","domain":"games","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":null}