Businesses in general cannot function without the trust of their customers. Customers will not trust a company that doesn’t keep them safe in the capacity in which they interact.

This is especially true for many “digital economy” and similar online businesses. Whether the online business matches buyers and vendors (such as ridesharing, home sharing, contractor finders, freelancer finders, or the like), or matches like-minded people together […]

Websites that ask customers to enter their birth date or check a box to verify their age – also known as “age gates” — have been around for decades now.
With an age gate, a visitor to such a site is asked to put in their date of birth or otherwise represent their age before entering an age-restricted site or purchasing a product. Nothing is done to check the information provided by the website visitor. They often serve as the only barrier to content and purchases that have legal age limitations.

Companies have to verify their customer’s identities for various reasons.  For example, in order to prevent fraud, e-commerce companies often want to verify their customers before processing orders, and in some cases this is required. 
Many businesses will soon have to “reasonably verify” California customers before complying with a request for a copy of their personal information held by the business, or to delete their information. […]

We are often asked by online companies for some piece of personal information with which to later identify us. “Mother’s maiden name” is one of those questions often asked. Most people hardly hesitate to give out this information in an expectation that no one could do anything with that piece of data. Additional questions may include: favorite musician, high school mascot, favorite food, where you met your spouse, the name of the street where you grew up, or the like. […]