BSI has urged the Government and Ofcom to use an existing international age assurance standard for any social media ban on under-16s, arguing that it could enforce restrictions without expanding personal data collection.

The intervention follows the Prime Minister’s announcement of a proposed ban for children under 16, alongside possible limits on features such as infinite scrolling and curfews. Ministers have not yet explained how the measures would work in practice, and Ofcom is expected to outline options for age checks.

BSI said officials should draw on BS ISO/IEC 27566-1, an international framework for age assurance systems published earlier this year. It argues that the standard provides a practical structure for making age-related eligibility decisions without requiring full identity verification in every case.

The issue has become politically sensitive because critics of tighter online restrictions have questioned both whether they can be enforced and whether they would require people to hand over excessive personal information. BSI argues that an existing standard addresses those concerns and could be adopted more quickly than designing a new model from scratch.

Privacy concerns

The framework is intended to reduce the amount of data shared when users prove their age. In practice, that means people would not automatically need to upload passports or disclose their full identity simply to show they are old enough to access a service.

The standard sets out the characteristics of age assurance systems, covering privacy, security, effectiveness and user acceptability. Rather than prescribing a single technology, it defines what a robust system should look like while allowing for different methods.

BSI also pointed to a broader commercial argument. Because the standard is international, companies operating across multiple markets could adopt a more harmonised approach to age verification instead of adapting to different national systems.

That matters for social media platforms and technology providers facing growing pressure from regulators in several countries to protect children online while avoiding unnecessary collection of sensitive data. A common framework could also help policymakers set rules focused on outcomes rather than mandating a single form of identity checking.

BSI backed its call with research on young people’s online behaviour, saying its 2025 findings showed that 42% of young Britons had lied to adults about what they did online, while 27% had pretended to be a different person online.

Separate research cited by the organisation found that 47% of UK adolescents wished they were growing up in a world without the internet, while 50% said a social media curfew would improve their lives. It also found that two-thirds spent more than two hours a day on social media and 40% had set up fake or decoy accounts.

Those figures are likely to strengthen the case for intervention, but they also highlight the difficulty of designing restrictions that are both workable and proportionate. Age checks that are too weak may be easy to bypass, while systems that are too intrusive could deter users and create new privacy risks.

Laura Bishop, Digital Sector Lead, Artificial Intelligence & Cyber Security, BSI, said: “Safeguarding the online well-being of adolescents and children is paramount, given the clear evidence of worrying behaviours. The Government is right to take steps on this. If a complete ban is to be a success, it needs to be implemented in a straightforward way, without introducing new risks to privacy and data collection. Age restrictions on any product or service can be difficult to enforce. The international framework BS ISO/IEC 27566-1 can act as a starting point on this journey towards a safe online world by providing a practical framework that establishes clear characteristics for trustworthy systems. Given the ambition to move at pace on this, we hope the Government and Ofcom will make use of this existing approach rather than start from scratch.”

Wider safety

Bishop also linked the social media debate to the wider question of how children interact with digital products. In BSI’s view, online protection should not be treated solely as a matter of access controls, but also of product design.

It cited separate research into AI-enabled toys and learning devices, where uptake among families appears to be rising despite concerns over data use and exposure to inappropriate material. According to the survey, half of children had already had one of these devices bought for them, and 38% owned two or more.

The same poll found that 75% of parents were worried about internet-connected AI toys exposing children to unwanted content or data risks. More than eight in ten said manufacturers should comply with established standards or codes of conduct, while 72% wanted clearer information about whether products met safety or security requirements.

BSI said this points to the need for a “safety by design” approach across digital services and connected devices. The Government’s proposed product safety framework has already identified harm linked to AI and automated decision-making as an area needing attention, including in toys.

“More broadly, given that children will eventually age out of the ban into a world where they are still expected to be digital natives, we need to consider how we equip them for the complexities of the digital world. This includes ensuring all platforms are designed so that they are human-centric and safe by design and default,” Bishop said.

SOFIAH NICHOLE SALIVIO

News Editor

Ecommpay has won the 2026 Retail Systems Award for Fraud Prevention Solution of the Year, recognising the payments company’s work in fraud prevention.

The Retail Systems Awards celebrate achievement across the retail sector, with the latest winners announced at a gala dinner in London.

The award reflects Ecommpay’s focus on merchant security while maintaining transaction conversion rates. Central to that approach is its in-house Risk Control System, or RCS, which includes a Graph Analysis tool designed to identify fraud trends and detect linked fraudulent activity rather than isolated incidents.

Founded in 2012 and based in London, Ecommpay operates as a payment service provider, offering acquiring, payment processing and orchestration through a single application programming interface. It also supports more than 100 payment methods and has built functions such as open banking, recurring billing and direct debits into its platform.

Fraud focus

Fraud prevention remains a key area of spending and scrutiny for merchants and payments providers as online commerce grows and criminal methods become more networked. Systems that can identify connections between separate fraud attempts have become increasingly important as retailers seek to reduce losses without adding friction at checkout.

Ecommpay says its Graph Analysis function tracks patterns across multiple related operations, helping merchants stop broader fraud schemes while avoiding unnecessary disruption for legitimate customers.

Willem Wellinghoff, UK Chair, Ecommpay, commented on the award and the company’s recent work on payments and risk controls.

“Our commitment to innovation and ongoing development has brought Ecommpay clients and their customers a more streamlined experience in the past 12 months. Critically, while enhancing the payments services we offer, we have also stayed focused on applying industry-leading fraud prevention to our processes to give merchants confidence. We are, therefore, delighted to receive recognition for this commitment at the Retail Systems Awards,” said Willem Wellinghoff, UK Chair, Ecommpay.

Market position

Ecommpay describes itself as a full-stack provider because it combines payment products with fraud tools built in-house. This structure allows merchants to access payment options, operational functions and fraud controls within the same system rather than relying on a mix of separate third-party products.

The business is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Payment Services Regulations 2017 to provide payment services in the UK. It is also a principal member of Mastercard and Visa, and its platform has Level 1 PCI DSS certification.

The Retail Systems Awards are now in their 21st year and focus on technology and service providers working with retailers. Ecommpay’s win places it among suppliers being recognised for tackling a persistent issue for online merchants: how to block fraud while keeping the payment journey simple for genuine customers.

Ecommpay says its anti-fraud measures are being continuously improved to protect merchants without compromising conversion rates.

AVEVA, Schneider Electric and Heriot-Watt University have agreed to collaborate on digital twin technologies for net zero energy and transport infrastructure, with research and development centred in the UK.

The collaboration follows a memorandum of understanding between Heriot-Watt University and Schneider Electric UK, acting on behalf of AVEVA Solutions. It will examine digital energy systems, smart infrastructure, transport decarbonisation and sustainable campus operations.

The organisations also plan to strengthen links between industry and academia through research, student projects, internships and possible funding initiatives. The framework is intended to identify priority areas for joint work across research, innovation, skills and applied technology.

At the centre of the effort is Heriot-Watt’s Global Research Institute iNetZ+, which has been working on digital energy systems and transport decarbonisation. That expertise will be combined with Schneider Electric’s energy management and automation capabilities and AVEVA’s digital twin software.

The deployment is expected to include digital twin-based optimisation, data-led decarbonisation, and smart energy and transport systems in research and demonstration settings. It will also use simulation tools and industrial automation technologies.

The arrangement builds on existing ties between Heriot-Watt and AVEVA. Earlier projects included research into digital twin technologies for real-time monitoring, predictive maintenance, forecasting and operational optimisation in electrolysis systems.

That work reflects wider interest in electrolysers as policymakers and industry look to flexible operations to help integrate renewable power and support low-carbon hydrogen production. The latest collaboration expands the focus beyond hydrogen-related research to broader infrastructure questions in energy and transport.

Industry links

The agreement comes as universities and industrial groups seek to turn decarbonisation research into applied projects with commercial and policy relevance. Digital twins, which create virtual models of physical systems, are increasingly used to test operating scenarios, model energy demand and monitor equipment performance.

Supporters of the approach argue that digital modelling can help organisations run complex assets more efficiently and reduce emissions without disrupting operations. In sectors such as transport networks, industrial sites and campuses, that can mean testing changes virtually before making physical investments.

For Heriot-Watt, the collaboration extends a long-standing effort to work with industry partners in engineering and infrastructure. The university has a substantial international footprint and a research base focused on energy, engineering and related disciplines.

For AVEVA and Schneider Electric, the project also deepens an existing relationship. Both companies are active in software, automation and energy management, with digital tools playing a growing role in industrial decarbonisation strategies.

Lisa Wee, Chief Sustainability Officer at AVEVA, outlined the rationale for the tie-up.

“Achieving net zero across energy, industry and transport will depend on closer collaboration between policymakers, academia and industry. By harnessing the power of industrial intelligence and using simulation and digital twins to model organisations with complex systems, leaders can equip their teams to make better decisions and accelerate practical decarbonisation. Through this collaboration, we have an opportunity to connect policy ambition, academic research and industrial expertise to support the development of smarter, more sustainable infrastructure,” said Lisa Wee, Chief Sustainability Officer at AVEVA.

David Pownall, Vice President of Power Systems UK&I at Schneider Electric, said the work would explore how energy use can be improved across different settings.

“The transition to cleaner energy systems requires infrastructure that is not only more sustainable, but also more flexible, efficient and resilient. Combining Schneider Electric’s expertise in energy management and automation with AVEVA’s industrial software capabilities and Heriot-Watt’s research strengths creates a strong foundation. It enables the exploration of practical solutions to optimise energy use across complex environments, from campuses to transport and industrial systems,” said David Pownall, Vice President of Power Systems UK&I at Schneider Electric.

Professor Gabriela Medero, Associate Principal for Enterprise at Heriot-Watt University, said the university viewed the partnership as part of its wider role in applied research.

“Heriot-Watt has a long-standing commitment to working with industry to turn research into practical solutions for society. Through iNetZ+ and our wider work in energy and transport decarbonisation, we are focused on helping partners understand and address the complex infrastructure challenges involved in the net zero transition,” said Professor Gabriela Medero, Associate Principal for Enterprise at Heriot-Watt University.