The Digital Oracle Comes 'Of Age'

For the past few years, analysts such as Bob Blakley and Jamie Lewis have predicted that someday, with the right identity technology, a 'digital oracle' could issue abstract but trusted declarations such as "a specific person is above or below a specific age" without needing to reveal the actual birthdate.

In mid-October a story published on theonion.com shouted to the world that, for the first time in history, someone pressed the “I'm under 18 button” on a pornographic site, denying themselves a treasure trove of “adult content.” This story highlights a glaring defect with Internet identity: after more than 20 years of evolution, there is still no way to prove how old we are (let alone whether we are a dog or not).

Last week that finally changed. Equifax introduced the first digital Information Card that allows anyone with a credit record to make verified claims -- specifically, an "I'm over 18" claim. This new age verification service was introduced by Equifax in conjunction with Azigo, makers of the Azigo Information Card selector. Equifax acts as the identity provider for the Equifax Over 18 I-Card. This card is produced by the Azigo CardPress service, and works with any Information Card selector.

With Information Card technology, Equifax can attest online whether a person is older than a specific age without needing to divulge actual identifying information such as the real birthdate. A website that accepts the Equifax Over 18 I-Card doesn't have to trust the user asserting this information; it can trust Equifax.

Verifying age online has long been an important gating factor for growth of new services on the net. For example, the Information Card Foundation is currently working on laying the rails for the technical requirements to prove a person online is under 12. A verifiable method for proving this would benefit a number of current and planned online services and social networks that need to protect kids from online predators.

There are many other uses for verified age claims. Beyond the obvious of selling products or services with associated legal age limits, such as wine or tobacco, consider also:

• Receiving your senior citizen discount online.
• Buying prescription drugs.
• Renewing a driver's license.
• Voting.

All require some form of age verification, of which the Equifax Over 18 I-Card is now real proof.

It's also proof of the steady progress of Information Cards. The Information Card Foundation was formed in June 2008, and its member companies are making great strides working together to provide a safer, yet simpler Internet experience. Microsoft's new Geneva Server, OpenID, SAML tokens, OAuth tokens, CardSpace, The Higgins Project, Novell's Bandit project and many more initiatives are all part of the Information Card ecosystem.

The emergence of companies like Equifax as Information Card providers means the "chicken and egg" question posed by the Wall St Journal now turns to the relying party sites. One immediate advantage of using Information Cards for age verification is that a site only need store the Equifax over-18 claim and not an actual birthdate.  In the event of a data breach at the site, a user's specific personal data will not be there to be stolen.

We could all use a little less personally identifying information floating around the Internet. Perhaps that would make privacy seem like more than a whimsical memory. It could also begin to restore trust in institutions that pledge to minimize the amount of personal data needed to do business. And it can change the risk assessment about storing progressively more personal customer data.

With the coming of age of the digital oracle, powered by Information Cards and selectors, many things become possible. It enables an ecosystem where your personal information resides in fewer places and under much greater personal control to be shared as you find appropriate and beneficial.