The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced the agenda for its upcoming workshop on age verification and estimation technologies, scheduled for January 28, 2026. The event will take place both online and in-person at the Constitution Center in Washington, D.C.
The workshop aims to address a variety of topics related to how companies verify or estimate the ages of users accessing websites and other online services. FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson will deliver opening remarks, followed by comments from Commissioner Mark R. Meador and Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Christopher Mufarrige.
Four panel discussions are planned for the event. These panels will examine why age verification is important, different types of tools available for this purpose, regulatory challenges companies face, strategies for implementing these systems at scale, and how these technologies relate to compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Rule.
Participation in the workshop is free and open to everyone. Registration is not required. The event will also be streamed live on FTC.gov, with further details available on the agency’s event page.
According to the FTC, its mission is to promote competition while protecting and educating consumers. The agency reminds individuals that it does not request money or make threats as part of its operations. Additional information about consumer protection can be found at consumer.ftc.gov, and incidents of fraud or scams can be reported at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
For ongoing updates from the FTC, people are encouraged to follow its social media channels, read alerts and blog posts aimed at both consumers and businesses, and sign up for news notifications.
