YouTube has officially launched its new AI age verification technology today, which will automatically add certain restrictions to your account if it thinks you’re under 18 years old.
This “age-estimation model,” as dubbed by the company, uses AI to establish if the user is under 18, despite what you might list as your birthday on your account. If the AI program determines the user is likely to be under 18 — which it uses factors like activity and longevity of the account to estimate — YouTube will enact restrictions and security measures.
Those restrictions and protections, which already exist on accounts for those under 18, include: showing only non-personalized ads; enabling “digital wellbeing” tools by default, which include reminders to take a break and for bedtime; showing reminders about privacy when uploading a video or commenting publicly; minimizing recommendations of videos with content that could be “problematic if viewed in repetition”; and blocking access to videos that are age-restricted for only viewers 18 and older (determined by YouTube or verified by users).
According to the video platform, users “have the option to verify your age (through government ID, selfie or a credit card) if you believe our age estimation model is incorrect.”
Initially, the program will focus on a small group of users in the US market “so that teens are treated as teens and adults as adults,” according to senior director of product management for YouTube’s youth products James Beser, who elaborated on the program in a blog post last month. “This technology will allow us to infer a user’s age and then use that signal, regardless of the birthday in the account, to deliver our age-appropriate product experiences and protections.”
Beser added in his post, “YouTube was one of the first platforms to offer experiences designed specifically for young people, and we’re proud to again be at the forefront of introducing technology that allows us to deliver safety protections while preserving teen privacy. Families trust YouTube to provide a safe and enriching experience, and we’ll continue to invest to protect their ability to explore safely online.”
Needless to say, many folks are not happy with this change, as it puts their account at the whim of a computer program with little oversight — and if flagged, will have to verify their age by uploading a government ID, which some users have said could leave them susceptible to data leaks and identity theft.
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
