Age assurance is rapidly becoming a core compliance, privacy and trust issue as regulators around the world impose new requirements on online platforms and services to protect minors. The age assurance market is expanding quickly, driven by evolving laws, child-safety concerns and growing expectations that companies can verify users’ ages without collecting excessive PI. This article, distilling insight offered during a recent webinar presented by Biometric Update and Goode Intelligence, examines the forces driving adoption, key regulatory developments, practical considerations for evaluating age assurance vendors and the growing role of digital identification wallets in the future of age verification. See “$17‑Billion Meta Pact Offers Compliance Guidance With Implications Across Industries” (Sep. 30, 2026).