Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) KOSA-Age-Verification-Inference-Section2-Knowledge-Standard-Reasonable-Steps-Age-Inference-Methods-Privacy-Preserving: KOSA Age Verification + Inference + Section 2 Knowledge Standard + Reasonable Steps + Age Inference Methods + Privacy-Preserving + Cohort Estimation + Facial Age Estimation + ID-Based + Parental Confirmation + Avoid Over-Verification

Section 2 of KOSA establishes the knowledge + inference standard for identifying minor users while balancing privacy and over-verification concerns. (1) Section 2 Knowledge Standard: (a) Covered platform must take reasonable steps to know or reasonably infer user age; (b) Higher standard than COPPA actual knowledge; (c) Lower standard than affirmative age verification; (d) Privacy-preserving inference encouraged; (e) Industry self-regulation per Section 9 Council guidance. (2) Section 2 Reasonable Steps Factors: (a) Risk of platform being accessed by minors; (b) Available technical capabilities; (c) Cost burden vs benefit; (d) User experience impact; (e) Privacy implications of verification method; (f) Accuracy vs over-reach trade-off. (3) Age Inference Methods - Knowledge Based: (a) User-provided age at registration (self-declaration); (b) Educational verification (student email); (c) Account history analysis; (d) Government ID upload (with privacy protection); (e) Payment method age inference (credit card 18+); (f) Phone number age inference. (4) Age Inference Methods - Behavioral: (a) Content + interest patterns; (b) Language + writing style analysis; (c) Time of activity (school hours); (d) Account creation cohort estimation; (e) Friend/follower network age estimation; (f) Search query patterns. (5) Age Inference Methods - Biometric: (a) Facial Age Estimation (Yoti + Privately + others) - privacy-preserving facial analysis without identification; (b) Voice age estimation; (c) Behavioral biometric age inference; (d) Sensitive considerations + bias risks; (e) Accuracy varies by demographic; (f) Privacy by design principles. (6) Age Inference Methods - Parental Confirmation: (a) Parent affirms minor status; (b) Family group linkage; (c) COPPA verifiable parental consent; (d) Email + phone confirmation; (e) Credit card payment for verification; (f) Government ID + child relationship. (7) Privacy-Preserving Age Inference Best Practices: (a) Federated processing where possible; (b) On-device inference + no upload; (c) Minimal data collection; (d) Short retention period; (e) No combination with PII; (f) Encryption at-rest + in-transit + in-use; (g) Differential Privacy; (h) Privacy Impact Assessment. (8) Avoid Over-Verification + Friction: (a) Knowledge + reasonable inference standard rather than verified; (b) Privacy + civil liberties concerns about ID-based verification; (c) Adult user friction considerations; (d) NetChoice v. Bonta consideration; (e) UK Age Appropriate Design Code lessons; (f) California AB 2273 considerations. (9) Ageing Up + Transitioning: (a) Account creation age cohort; (b) Aged up at 13 + 16 + 17 + 18 transitions; (c) Settings cascade upon ageing up; (d) Material change notification; (e) Re-verification at major transitions; (f) Settings persistence considerations. (10) Section 2 + 9 Council Guidance: (a) Best Practices for age inference; (b) Industry self-regulation; (c) Privacy + accuracy trade-off guidance; (d) Demographic bias review; (e) Periodic update reflecting evolving practices; (f) Civil society + academic input. (11) Industry Implementation Examples: (a) Meta - account creation age + payment + ID + family group; (b) Google - account age + family link; (c) TikTok - registration + content patterns + cohort; (d) Apple - Apple ID + Family Sharing; (e) Roblox - account creation + parent verification + age categories; (f) Snapchat - registration age + Family Center linkage; (g) Discord - registration age + verification; (h) Yoti + Privately + AgeChecked - facial age estimation services. (12) Multi-Jurisdiction Age Standards: (a) US KOSA - reasonable inference; (b) COPPA - under 13 actual knowledge; (c) UK Age Appropriate Design Code - under 18; (d) California AB 2273 - under 18; (e) EU DSA - minors broadly; (f) Texas SCOPE Act + Maryland Kids Code + New York SAFE for Kids - varying. Coordinates with COPPA Children Online Privacy Protection Act + UK Age Appropriate Design Code + California AB 2273 + EU DSA + Texas SCOPE Act + Maryland Kids Code + New York SAFE for Kids Act + NetChoice v. Bonta + Yoti + Privately + AgeChecked age estimation + COPPA Safe Harbor + Section 9 Kids Online Safety Council + Privacy-Enhancing Technologies + Differential Privacy. KOSA Age Verification + Inference + Section 2 applies.