Linden Lab of Second Life fame today unveiled a new Identity Verification (IDV) system for its Residents. The voluntary system will provide an additional layer of trust for Residents and businesses, giving them new tools to determine how they interact with the Second Life community and how the content they create is accessed.
The introduction of IDV will also help ensure that minors do not gain access to restricted content within Second Life, which is intended for users aged 18 or over. Access to Second Life content flagged as ‘Restricted’ will be available only to those whose age has been verified as being over 18.
Verification technology and data services provider, Aristotle, will provide its widely used Integrity Identity verification technology, which launches in Linden Lab’s beta today, before a full rollout to all Second Life Residents.
Identify verification is voluntary, but will be required of any Resident wishing to access clearly marked ‘Restricted’ regions within Second Life. The system requires users to enter specific identifying information, for example, a driver’s license number, passport or national ID card number, or the last four digits of a social security number. This is then cross-checked against pre-existing databases of public record, to verify relevant aspects of a person’s identity.
Second Life users who prefer to forego identity verification are welcome to do so, and may continue to use the Second Life service, although their access to areas marked as ‘Restricted’ will be prohibited.
Originally posted on August 29, 2007 @ 12:49 pm