The i-STIK, a digital credentialing program, was launched yesterday by Verisign and i-Safe to help protect children and teenagers from Internet child predators. The small USB device provides verification of the age and gender of the user while keeping their full identities private. If an i-STIK is reported lost or stolen, the ID number becomes invalid. The hope is that if the i-STIK is widely adopted, then chatters attempting to enter youth-oriented chat rooms without one will be shunned. The pilot study includes just seven schools, but thousands more have signed up to start using the i-STIK by Spring 2005.
Read the press release.