Soon, YouTube will start using artificial intelligence-based age estimation technology to find out which users are under 18. Starting on August 13, YouTube will identify underage users in the US based on their activity and account age, allowing the platform to automatically apply restrictions.
These accounts will receive the same protections that YouTube already offers to users under the age of 18, including blocking age-restricted videos, non-personalized ads, “break” notifications, and restrictions on repetitive video recommendations on sensitive topics such as body images. The platform will also automatically turn on privacy reminders when users upload videos or leave comments.
Google first announced plans to use machine learning for age verification earlier this year, coinciding with a global push to keep children safe online. Last week, the UK enacted online age verification rules that require users to confirm their age on sites with porn or content deemed “harmful.” Several states have passed laws blocking minors from accessing porn sites, while efforts to age-censor social media platforms have largely failed. The European Union is also testing a prototype age verification system that will eventually be linked to digital identifiers.
YouTube will notify users if it determines that they are under 18, but if the platform is wrong, users can verify their age by uploading a government-issued ID, taking a selfie, or entering credit card information. The platform notes that some authors may “experience a change in their audience classified as teenagers,” which could potentially lead to a decrease in advertising revenue as minors are not shown personalized ads.
“Over the next few weeks, we’ll begin rolling out machine learning to a small group of users in the U.S. to estimate their age so that teens are treated as teens and adults are treated as adults,” writes James Besser, YouTube’s chief product officer, in a post explaining the changes. Besser adds that YouTube will “closely monitor” the update before rolling it out to other countries.
