FTC halts controversial ESRB proposal that worried many gamers

The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is seeking alternatives to protect the privacy of minors in online environments, as dictated by the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA). To this end, it proposed to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) a facial scanning system.

The project involves using technology to verify that players are of legal age by means of a photograph of their face that will be sent to special servers and subsequently deleted. The idea was not well received because of its implications, so it generated quite a lot of controversy among players, who fear for the management of their information and biometric data. The FTC's perspective is not very different, as it recently stopped the ESRB proposal.

FTC says no to facial scanning of gamers

According to GamesIndustry.biz, the FTC declined to use facial scanning as an alternative to ensure COPPA enforcement in the video game industry. The joint proposal by the ESRB, SuperAwesome and Yoti was rejected after the regulator analyzed each of its points.

We know that the FTC paid special attention to more than 350 comments it received on the use of the technology. They discussed the potential misuse of the technology and questioned its effectiveness. The risks to players' privacy were also discussed.

The regulator put everything on the scales and, in the end, its commissioners decided to vote against the proposal. However, this does not necessarily mean that the project has come to an end. The ESRB, SuperAwesome and Yoti may resubmit their proposal in the future. While it is not known what will happen, the agencies could come back to the FTC with an evaluation that demonstrates the potential and uses of their project.

The idea is that the regulator will have a better idea of how the scanning technology will work and will open the doors to the project. The ESRB has stressed that the initiative is safe and that no images or user information will be stored. Despite this, the project has faced harsh criticism for its implications.