What’s Your Age Again? The Future of Online Age Assurance
Cindy Cohn,
Denise G. Tayloe
As governments around the world introduce new laws intended to create safer and more age-appropriate digital experiences for children and teens, age assurance has become one of the most debated topics in technology policy. Supporters view it as an important tool for protecting young people online and enabling age-appropriate experiences, while critics raise important questions about privacy, civil liberties, free expression, implementation, and unintended consequences.
This conversation brings together two respected voices to explore the complex technical, legal, ethical, and societal questions surrounding age assurance from the perspectives of privacy advocacy, policy, and real-world implementation. Rather than debating simple “for” or “against” positions, the discussion will examine how organizations, policymakers, technologists, parents, and privacy advocates can balance child safety, privacy, parental involvement, regulatory compliance, and individual rights in an increasingly digital world.
Featuring Cindy Cohn, former executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Denise G. Tayloe, co-founder and CEO of PRIVO, this session will offer a thoughtful exploration of one of today’s most challenging technology policy issues – moving beyond headlines to discuss what effective, privacy-preserving age assurance could look like in practice.
Saturday 1700 Grand Ballroom
Cindy Cohn is a renowned American civil liberties attorney who served as the executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) from 2015 to 2026. She is highly regarded as one of the country’s leading legal defenders of digital rights, privacy, and free speech. Before stepping up as executive director, she spent 15 years as the organization ’s legal director and general counsel, leading campaigns against corporate overreach, platform censorship, and FBI gag orders.
Denise G. Tayloe is the co-founder and CEO of PRIVO, an FTC-approved COPPA safe harbor organization and a global leader in digital trust, age assurance, parental consent, identity, and privacy solutions for organizations serving children, teens, and families online. For more than 25 years, Denise has helped companies navigate the evolving intersection of child safety, digital identity, privacy, and regulatory compliance while enabling responsible online experiences. A recognized authority on children’ s privacy, identity, and age assurance, Denise is a frequent invited speaker at conferences around the world and holds three U.S. patents related to device-level age assurance technologies designed to protect vulnerable populations. She was also present at the U.S. Senate hearing where Mark Zuckerberg testified before families whose children had been harmed through social media, reinforcing her commitment to advancing practical, privacy-preserving solutions that balance innovation, individual rights, and child safety.
