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Robin Tombs
Co-founder and CEO - Yoti
Robin Tombs is a serial tech entrepreneur and investor who is currently the Co-founder and CEO of Yoti, a digital identity system that helps users prove their identity online and in person.13 He joined Founders Pledge as a Pledger in April 2018, committing to leveraging his success for good through data-driven philanthropy.1
Key aspects of Robin Tombs' career and achievements include:
- Co-founder of Yoti (2014-present): Developed a free consumer app that puts ID on users' phones.1
- Co-founder of Gamesys (2001-2019): One of the world's leading online gaming operators.1
- Founder of ZING Charity (2010-present): A private foundation supporting organizations that help young people develop life skills and confidence.1
- Angel investor in various tech-based companies, including Infinitesima, Trumin, Luxdeco, and others.3
- Former Trustee at Future First (2014-2018): A charity helping state schools build alumni communities.1
Tombs holds a degree in Economics and Politics from Bristol University and previously worked as an accountant at PwC from 1993 to 1997.12 He is passionate about creating opportunities for young people and bringing scalable web and mobile technologies to the non-profit sector.23
Highlights
Really odd that the CEO of Ofcom, Dame Melanie Dawes, when pushed on Friday morning on BBC News Radio 4 Today on why Ofcom are not being clearer about how they will expect businesses to comply with 13 minimum age terms and conditions, claimed:
“One of the reasons is that these age assurance technologies - which scan your face & estimate your age, and don’t ask for any other details, but do estimate your age, don’t work very well on children, as children can look so different at different ages, as I’m sure we all know.”
But for over 3 years, Yoti publicly available facial #ageestimation scientific data (spilt by gender & year of age between 6-70) does not support Ofcom’s claim. It is possible to estimate a very high % of children correctly as either under, or over 13.
The Ofcom CEO went on to say that businesses need to design age appropriate experiences which are likely to be different for younger kids on Roblox or YouTube compared to teenagers using social media. Provided Ofcom takes a proportionate approach, 65% of children aged 6-17 can be estimated as either the correct year or 1 year either side & 85% can be estimated as the correct year or 2 years either side. Surely this is useful to help design age appropriate experiences?
A Daily Telegraph article on 12 June explains: “Officials say the only way to guarantee a child is 13 or over would be to ask for physical ID such as credit cards or passports but many teenagers do not have them.”
But highly effective is not the same as ‘guarantee’ (which a dictionary defines as a ‘promise with certainty’) so it is again odd for officials to choose to use that word in this regulatory context where perfection is the enemy of the good. (A teenager could enter one their parent’s credit card info which would wrongly pass an 18 or 13 age check so credit cards do not deliver guaranteed age checks…)
As shown below, some of Yoti FAE best performance is when estimating the age of 15-17 year olds because so many 15-19 year olds have Yoti & you can see Yoti FAE continues to improve.
Despite not using mobile phone camera captured testing data, & using children mostly from one country (Mexico), US NIST in their May 2024 Facial Age Technology Evaluation (FATE) report published MAE & FPR results which show that leading vendors like Yoti & Incode can age gate whether most younger children are under or over 13 or under or over 18. NIST has also said, that based on their learnings from measuring Facial Recognition accuracy over the last decade, they expect FAE to further improve.
Many stakeholders will wonder why Ofcom has chosen to make these unhelpful comments about the effectiveness of FAE for estimating children’s ages, which are contradicted by the scientific data published by Yoti which can be tested independently.
You can’t buck science - for long. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) covers the hot potato of the Govt wanting #Ageverification to prevent children from accessing #onlineporn & the worries of #privacy campaigners such as the Electronic Frontiers Australia & views of others who think the #AV tech won’t ‘work’ & kids will get round it.
If well-designed the future Australian AV trials will reassure interested parties that some age checks can be highly effective whilst some others are not. Some age checks require repeated entry of PII whilst others enable individuals to prove age in a reusable digital ID wallet once & then share an anonymised Over 18 age token many times (as no-one gets any younger).
The trials will show that one of the most effective age checks is using world class facial #ageestimation (FAE) which must include world class presentation attack detection (PAD) & injection attack detection (IAD). US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have tested the first FAE vendors using miliions of age verified facial images & will publish results soon.
Dozens (including Yoti) of PAD vendors have already been tested & passed to ensure almost all screen, print & mask attacks are detected. There are no independent IAD tests yet but several vendors run independent bounty schemes to test whether ethical hackers can beat the IAD. None have bested Yoti’s IAD - called SICAP).
By the time Australia starts to enforce AV for #porn, it will be clear to the Australian public, regulators, journalists, privacy campaigners & other interested parties that Australians
- can choose, if they so wish, to download the free Yoti app (& probably some other apps) where the individual provides takes a selfie which is age estimated on device then deleted
- can then use their anonymous Yoti age token to prove age at websites & apps that accept Yoti age tokens.
For this user of the Yoti app, no PII will be stored. Some privacy campaigners will recognise & embrace the value of this privacy. Others won’t like it because they are opposed to capture / use of faces / biometrics, even when individuals consent & when regulators require such faces to be deleted.
Some regulators may require businesses to offer individuals the option to choose a ‘double blind’ AV solution - where the business doesn’t know who the individual is, or which AV provider does the age check & where the age provider doesn’t know which business they do the check for. But sensible regulations can ensure AV providers do not retain personal details used by individuals & de-list / de-certify AV providers who foolishly break this rule. Double blind complicates the business model for both businesses who in normal markets choose who they are relying on to provide a service & for AV providers who don’t know which business is using (& paying?) for their service.
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Mesh is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Mesh beneficial.
Mesh offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Mesh offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Mesh's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
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