Is blockchain the future of old age insurance? That’s the case if you ask Evin McMullin, CEO of Billions Network – “the first universal human and AI network built with mobile-first verification”, combined with biometrics provider Privado ID.
“This means you can use the devices you already own, like your phone or computer, to prove who you are online, on-chain and even in real life.”
Speaking to the Biometric Update podcast, McMullen takes issue with the algorithmic method of age inference that YouTube has implemented, as well as some other decentralized identity models that nevertheless seem problematic from a privacy perspective.
“There is concern that YouTube will continue to tighten the barriers here, leveraging age not just for security reasons, but rather to control what content is recommended or monetized, which could be seen as the first step toward normalizing AI-based age verification linked to censorship,” she says. “What starts with age-related security could become a mechanism of control over what content is allowed, recommended, or monetizable for different user groups if that process is opaque.”
McMullen says that while there are many other identity and blockchain-related protocols working on part of the problem, “they don’t focus on privacy, minimal disclosure, and accessibility to all as first principles” like Billions Network does.
“Billions Network was founded on the belief that identity does not have to mean handing over all your data, but rather we can enable people to make elevated, privacy-first, self-verifiable declarations of consent rooted in trusted organizations, such as government IDs, or trusted data like biometrics, with minimal exposure of personal data.
“Blockchains are no longer just about currency. They are layers of trust that allow us to make verifiable claims, such as passport-based age reporting, in a tamper-proof, verifiable way without storing that actual data on-chain. You can think of a blockchain as a one-time write, never erase, but you can update.”
“In the context of regulation, this is really powerful because you can comply with emerging laws and regulations such as those in the UK and EU in a way that also respects user privacy and consent.”
Check out the full episode to hear more from Billions Network’s Evin McMullen.
Running time: 00:24:20
Article topics
age verification | Billion Network | Biometric Update Podcast | biometrics | blockchain | data privacy | digital identity | Private ID
