Can banking apps solve underage online sales better than a centralised state ID? Discover how the banking sector's new digital verification service mirrors years of my research on privacy-preserving age-assurance. Explore how this ecosystem bridges the gap between secure transactions, data minimisation, and real-world e-commerce safety.
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Writing on academic practice, governance and quality in online higher education, informed by research in pedagogy and information systems.
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The UK Government has launched a consultation to update the Licensing Act 2003to address digital age assurance for alcohol sales. This includes using digital proof of age and determining the point of age verification. The consultation aims to reduce ambiguity and enhance protection against underage sales and intoxicated purchases as identified in my earlier research.
I successfully passed my viva and submitted my PhD thesis on improving online informational content quality. My research led to the development of the Informative Web Content Guidelines (IWCG), enhancing web content accessibility and usability.
My research, funded by the Institute of Alcohol Studies, proposes using Merchant Category Codes (MCCs) in payment card transactions to prevent underage online alcohol purchases. This system enhances age assurance with minimal customer friction and robust privacy protection, ensuring compliance with age-restriction laws while maintaining a seamless customer experience.
The UK's lockdown in March 2020 led to increased alcohol consumption and sales. Research funded by Alcohol Change UK revealed that online age verification for alcohol purchases is inadequate, often relying on delivery checks. Clarifying guidelines from the Licensing Act 2003 and involving banks in age verification could better protect underage individuals from buying alcohol online.
Evaluation of the effectiveness of age-gating processes for online alcohol sales. The study found current methods ineffective and proposed enhanced online age verification, leveraging bank authorisation processes, and continuous monitoring of emerging technologies to better prevent minors from purchasing alcohol online.
Our paper "Understanding Digital Events: Process Philosophy and Causal Autonomy" explores how deepening immersion in digital networks impacts free will. We argue for IT mindfulness to counteract the overwhelming influence of digital technologies. Integrating Bergson's and Whitehead's philosophies, we analyze the continuum from human control to technological autonomy and emphasise ethical design.
The publication, Understanding Digital Events: Bergson, Whitehead, and the Experience of the Digital, is now available. This scholarly collection examines the philosophical and practical implications of digital interactions, providing a comprehensive and integrated perspective on digital phenomena. As Research Assistant for this study, I am pleased to see the Colloquium discourse distilled into a published work.