Linden begins age verification rollout
By Eric Reuters
In a post on the official Linden Lab Blog VP for Community Robin Linden announced the debut of the age verification scheme that was first proposed in May, now to be called “Identity Verification (IDV).”
Identity verification provides an additional layer of trust for in-world businesses and Residents. It also helps ensure that minors can not gain access to inappropriate content in Second Life or have access to restricted content in-world.
Beyond providing an extra level of trust to commercial transactions, IDV will enable Linden to tie a real-world legal jurisdiction to an avatar, allowing the company to selectively enforce local laws.
The first phase of the IDV implementation, now underway, allows estate owners to flag land as “restricted.” Linden Lab plans to extend the rollout to all residents in coming months. IDV is a voluntary process, Linden says, but non-verified accounts will soon be barred from adult-flagged land.
Early reports from the SLogosphere describe IDV registration as quick and bug-free, with Nobody Fugazi of Trinidad and Tobago wryly noting it’s easier to use his ID at Linden’s site than when dealing with his own government.
