The government discuss the sale of power engineers using biometrics
The Government of the Russian Federation and marketplaces, together with the Center for Biometric Technologies, discuss the possibility of legalizing the sale of energy drinks on marketplaces using biometrics. Due to the recently entering age restrictions on the sale of power engineers, vending machines were also injured, which can ultimately lose up to a quarter of their income. Now sales of such drinks may return there.
As “Kommersant” sources in the Internet trade market, the government is preparing a bill that should allow the sale of energy drinks on marketplaces and in vending machines with identification through a single biometric system (EBS). The relevant changes should be made to the Federal Law of the FZ-304, which entered into force on March 1, 2025. This law allows the sale of tonic drinks (including energy) only in stores and only adults.
“Now the mincifers are collecting the opinions of regulators. The Ministry of Health support the concept and consider it possible to confirm the age of biometrics when buying power engineers both online and in vending, ”Kommersant’s interlocutors said. The last segment was most affected by the adoption of the Federal Law, they told Kommersant sources in the offline trade market, and received up to a quarter of their revenues on the sale of power engineers of the segment. Another source also knows about the discussion of the issue of using biometrics for the sale of alcoholic and tobacco products. “But talk about specific steps prematurely,” he believes.
In general, the work of marketplaces with biometria has already been fixed in the bill on the protection of citizens from fraud, which the State Duma adopted on March 25. It implies voluntary treatment of biometric data for communication operators and marketplaces according to the vector model of work with the EBS (See “Kommersant” from March 25).
The Department of Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko confirms the development of the mechanism of age-related verification when buying energy using biometrics with the participation of the Center for Biometric Technologies (CBT, EBS operator) and representatives of the industry: “This measure will unlock the legal market for adult consumers, while maintaining a complete prohibition of access to such products for adolescents.”
The Central Bank clarified that to access the age confirmation service, a standard or confirmed biometrium will be needed.
Standard biometrics are recorded remotely in the “State Services Biometry” application, confirmed in the branches of banks. So, when buying an energy machine in a vending machine, age confirmation will be carried out through a special terminal – by analogy with how the biometry payment services are now working, the operator representative says. Remote purchase of a product can be implemented in the application of an online retailer. The service itself can be implemented within a few months after the adoption of the necessary regulatory acts is certified in the Central Bank.
When developing the bill “On the Platform Economy” (not yet entered into the State Duma, called to fight counterfeit), proposals aimed at making the use of platforms and marketplaces safe for consumers, they say in the Ministry of Education. The possibility of confirming the age and personality of buyers using biometrics is one of them. The ministry believes that the application of this type of identification should not be mandatory either for the consumer or the marketplace: “The possibility of choosing a method of confirming information about the buyer should be ensured. Such a choice should take into account both the consumer’s personal right to abandon the use of biometrics and the economic feasibility of its implementation in each specific sales model on the marketplace. ” The Ministry of Health did not respond to a request.
The representative of the United company Wildberries and RUSS calls the use of biometrics in the context of online trade in alcohol and tobacco products promising: « But talking about testing the sale of these categories using biometry authentication is advisable only after its legalization. » Yandex Market refused to comment, they did not answer Ozon and Kuper.
«Проблеме контроля возраста при дистанционной торговле уже много лет»,— замечает директор по взаимодействию с органами государственной власти AB InBev Efes Вячеслав Ефимов. It does not exclude that after the successful implementation in the segment of power engineers, the verification mechanism can also be applied for sales of brewing products.
After the material is released, the Kommersant’s mincifers reported that the legislation already provides for the possibility of confirming age for standard and confirmed biometrics in full -time in stores when buying energy drinks (that is, not according to the passport). Remote confirmation of the age of biometrics when buying power engineers, for example, in marketplaces or online stores, is also legally possible if there is a technical capacity of the site or application. “However, it is necessary to additionally work out the procedure for such sales, now this issue is only being discussed with the industry and interested departments,” Mintsfirs say.
A change is made to the text – a commentary of the Ministry of Construction in the last paragraph has been added.
