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- Substitution is growing: 18+ products are being massively sold online without checking documents
Substitution is growing: 18+ products are being massively sold online without checking documents
Goods of 18+ are often sold online and delivered without passport verification, Izvestia found out. Couriers do not ask for documents and do not monitor age restrictions. Violations were found in the sale of energy drinks, lighters and printed products. The Civic Chamber has already sent a letter to the government with a proposal to make more active use of age verification using biometrics. They confirmed that this practice will be taken into account when drafting new laws. How the control over the sale of age—restricted goods will change is in the Izvestia article.
The authorities called for the introduction of biometrics in the sale of energy products
Social activists have recorded numerous violations in the online sale of energy drinks and other 18+ products. This is stated in a letter from the Public Consumer Initiative (OPI) addressed to Dmitry Grigorenko, Deputy Prime Minister and head of the government staff (Izvestia has it). In 80% of cases, passport verification is not carried out upon receipt of orders, as a result, products with age restrictions are sold to minors.
The authorities also see complaints from online retailers and industry associations about this problem, Dmitry Grigorenko's press service told Izvestia.
Massive violations were recorded when ordering energy drinks, pyrotechnics, lighters, certain types of printed products and other 18+ goods online, it follows from the materials of the OPI. During the control purchase from April 2025 to January 2026, minors tried to place 31 orders, of which 25 were given to them, meaning the ban on sales was not respected in 80% of cases. At the same time, in January, such goods were issued in 100% of cases.
To solve the problem, it is proposed to introduce "modern digital identification tools" using biometrics — such a mechanism is already prescribed in the law on the platform economy. According to public figures, its use will eliminate the influence of the human factor in the transfer of goods, as well as allow compliance with the requirements of the law.
The government will take into account the position of the industry when forming the regulatory framework in this regard, Dmitry Grigorenko's press service said.
Without age verification using biometrics, it is necessary to completely ban the sale of tonic drinks, pyrotechnics, lighters, printed products for adults and a number of other goods on the Internet, according to Oleg Pavlov, chairman of the OPI.
The Union of Electronic Commerce has also proposed changes to the regulations, they consider it necessary to expand the use of digital identification in the online sale of 18+ goods, said the director of the organization, Georgy Bagiryan. According to him, these proposals have been sent to the government office.
The beverage industry supports the mandatory use of the Unified Biometric System (UBS) by the seller to confirm the age of customers, including remotely, said Alla Andreeva, CEO of Soyuznapitka. According to industry experts, the introduction of the mechanism will make the market more transparent and safer for both producers and consumers. The organization also appealed to the Cabinet of Ministers on this issue.
When will they start confirming the age of 18+ using biometrics when purchasing goods?
The age verification service based on a Single Biometric System is already being implemented at self-service cash desks (CSR) in the Magnit store chain, as well as in vending machines in a number of Moscow fitness clubs, the Central Bureau of Technology (CBT) added.
At CSR, biometrics can be used to purchase any products with age restrictions, in vending machines — only for energy companies. The mechanism blocks the possibility of purchasing products with an age limit if a child is trying to place or receive an order.
"Since the launch of the service, not a single minor has been able to bypass the system," the CBT press service emphasized.
To use the service, you must register your data in a Single Biometric System in advance. When purchasing products with age restrictions, the system receives a direct request about the age of the buyer. If the client is over 18 years old, the operation is approved. If it is younger, the request is blocked.
The regulatory framework for mandatory online sales of 18+ products can be worked out by the middle of 2027, according to Natalia Milchakova, a leading analyst at Freedom Finance Global. However, it will take more time to provide a significant proportion of pick-up points and couriers with devices for reading biometrics.
How big is the problem of selling energy drinks to children
The problem is caused by the lack of control over the presentation of a passport when shopping online, said Georgy Bagiryan, director of the Electronic Commerce Union. Minors still have access to age—restricted goods, contrary to the law.
The peculiarity of remote trading is that it involves the involvement of several participants at once: the owner of the aggregator, the seller, the courier service, the pick-up point of orders and their employees. This blurs responsibility, makes it difficult to identify the perpetrators and makes it virtually impossible to comply with the law when selling age-restricted goods online, Oleg Pavlov emphasized.
The main reason for non—compliance with the rules for controlling the age of the customer is the human factor, said Ekaterina Kosareva, Managing Partner of the VMT Consulting agency. PVZ managers need to process applications quickly, disassemble the goods, help with returns and check the goods. Couriers try to deliver orders as quickly as possible. Getting tired and losing concentration, they sometimes don't check their age properly. The introduction of biometrics would help reduce the impact of this factor — the system simply will not allow them to sell or give away products.
The lack of age verification actually cancels the ban on the sale of energy drinks to minors, the chairman of the OPI emphasized. In this regard, there remains a real threat of harm to the health of adolescents, including the formation of addiction and exacerbation of cardiovascular, neurological and mental diseases.
The harm of energy drinks has been confirmed by scientific research, Ekaterina Kosareva noted. These drinks can be addictive and cause a desire to gradually increase the dose, which creates an additional burden on the body. They also affect the digestive and endocrine systems, as well as increase the risk of developing diabetes.
Energy companies cause no less harm than tobacco and alcohol, especially for young people, said Olga Shuppo, founder of the Grand Clinic network. Regular consumption depletes the body, puts strain on the heart and blood vessels, promotes arrhythmias, pressure surges, disrupts mental activity, memory and attention, and causes insomnia.
The massive introduction of biometrics can reduce the number of violations when selling 18+ products, but it can slow down sales growth, said Natalia Milchakova from Freedom Finance Global. The market will need additional funds to launch the identification system. In addition, some Russians still do not trust the new system. However, biometrics only confirms the age — sellers see even less data than when presenting a passport.
Prospects of biometrics in the Russian Federation
Biometrics is a promising technology that can be used in banks, retail, hotels, carsharing and other areas, Ekaterina Kosareva from VMT Consult noted. In ten years, it may become the main way to identify citizens due to its simplicity, reliability and convenience.
As with any services that rely on big data, there are always risks of leakage (up to identity theft) and the development of fraud through deepfakes, Ekaterina Kosareva noted. However, the EBS is protected to the highest standards, and information is stored there in encrypted form separately from personal data. It was to ensure the security of such information that in the summer of 2023, commercial companies were banned from storing biometrics, they transferred everything to the state system.
"During the entire period of operation of the EBS, there has not been a single leak of biometric data of customers," the press service of the CBT clarified.
The EBS uses several layers of protection, which makes it almost invulnerable to hackers, Natalia Milchakova believes. By 2028, experts estimate that about 10% of all payments in Russia may be made using biometrics, so both sellers and buyers will have to adapt to this technology.
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