This represents the first instance of facial age estimation being deployed simultaneously across both physical retail and online domains in a major Western democracy. The dual-track implementation through seemingly beneficial use cases (protecting youth from tobacco and porn) demonstrates how biometric surveillance gains public acceptance through ostensibly protective measures, setting precedent for wider adoption.
France Deploys AI Age Scanners: Digital Identity's Stealthy Rise
📰 What Happened
France is rolling out facial age estimation (FAE) cameras in tobacco shops while maintaining age verification requirements for porn sites. The anti-smoking group Generation sans tabac (GST) has raised concerns, noting CNIL's classification of FAE as sensitive personal data processing. The technology processes images in real-time using algorithms to determine adult status, though no images are stored. This dual implementation of age verification systems marks a significant expansion of biometric surveillance in daily commerce.
📖 Prophetic Significance
The French FAE system's implementation mirrors the warning in 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10 about deception coming through signs and wonders that appear beneficial. The technology's presentation as child protection masks its role in normalizing universal digital identity verification. The real-time algorithmic processing without image storage presents a false sense of privacy protection, while actually advancing infrastructure for the mark of the beast system. GST's contradictory statements about image processing versus storage reflect the confusion prophesied in Matthew 24:24 about deceptions so convincing they could deceive even the elect.