Why Mobile Operators Must Act Now on Age Verification: A Global Call to Protect Children Online

Around the world, governments, parents, and digital platforms are aligning behind a shared priority: keeping children safe online. As harmful content becomes easier for young people to access, the pressure is growing for stronger, more reliable age assurance measures,  and mobile networks have a critical role to play.

At JT Global, we work closely with online platforms that rely on telecom-based signals to verify user ages. Today, together with our partners across social media and other digital sectors, we are calling on Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to take immediate action by enabling the CAMARA Know Your Customer Age Verification API in key global markets.

This standardised, interoperable API, built on GSMA Open Gateway principles is emerging as the most scalable path to deliver trusted age assurance signals across borders. And the need could not be more urgent. 

The Rising Need for Scalable, Carrier-Based Age Assurance

Protecting young people online has never been more important. Parents increasingly rely on digital tools for safety, while governments continue to toughen regulation in response.

Digital platforms are investing heavily in user protection, but they face a complex challenge: accurately determining whether a user is a minor. MNOs hold authoritative subscriber information that can significantly improve accuracy, but inconsistent implementations across markets make global adoption difficult.

This is why JT Global strongly supports the GSMA Open Gateway initiative. By creating a single, standardised approach to carrier-based age assurance:

• Platforms can adopt MNO signals at scale
• Operators can deploy faster and more consistently
• Regulators can reference a trusted global framework

The recent UK implementation has already demonstrated what’s possible when industry works together.

Regulators Are Moving Fast - and Demand Is Growing

The global regulatory landscape is accelerating quickly.

When the UK Online Safety Act 2023 came into force in July 2025, JT Global saw immediate, significant increases in traffic to its Age Verification service. And the UK is only one example. Around the world, legislators are explicitly endorsing or mandating age assurance mechanisms, including telco-based signals.

Examples of new or upcoming regulatory requirements include:

• Australia – The Online Safety Amendment (effective 10 December 2025) requires social platforms to take reasonable steps to prevent under‑16s from creating or using accounts.
• European Union – Under the Digital Services Act, platforms serving minors must deploy robust age verification. Five member states—France, Spain, Italy, Denmark, and Greece—are now piloting a unified system covering 80+ million minors. Some are expected to recognise carrier-based signals as a compliant method.
• Brazil – The new Digital ECA law makes age verification mandatory for all platforms used by minors, with fines reaching up to 10% of revenue in Brazil (capped at $10 million per violation). The national data protection authority has explicitly referenced Ofcom’s endorsement of carrier-based methods.
• Mexico – Authorities are moving toward multi‑modal age assurance frameworks, encouraging platforms to combine government ID checks, parental consent, and increasingly, mobile‑based verification.

Across all these regions, platforms are seeking scalable, privacy-preserving, telecom‑verified age signals—and they need them urgently.

Why Industry Collaboration Is Essential

As a long-standing member of the GSMA, JT Global is actively collaborating with operators worldwide to help expand access to standardised age signals.

The Know Your Customer Age Verification API offers:

• a unified global standard
• interoperability across participating MNOs
• alignment with a broader GSMA Open Gateway ecosystem
• easier integration for global online platforms

This is why JT Global and its customers are urging more MNOs,  particularly in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Brazil, and Mexico to activate the API as soon as possible.

Where local deployments may take longer, JT Global is also prepared to work with MNOs on an interim basis using the Know Your Customer Match API, given the urgent need to support compliance.

Our ambition is to roll out the Age Verification API across multiple markets in 2026 and significantly expand coverage again in 2027.

A Shared Responsibility,  and a Shared Opportunity

Online safety is no longer optional. It is becoming a core expectation from families, regulators, and society at large. Telecom operators, with their unique ability to provide trusted, privacy‑conscious signals, are central to the future of age assurance.

The successful launch of carrier-based verification in the UK has shown what the industry can achieve together through the GSMA Open Gateway framework. Now is the moment to build on that momentum.

JT Global invites MNOs around the world to join us in activating the Know Your Customer Age Verification API and helping create a safer internet for children everywhere.