Taylor Kerns / Android Authority
YouTube has been gradually expanding its AI age-estimation operations in the US over the past few months. It started in July, with the announcement that the platform would require users who didn’t seem sufficiently adult to verify they’re over the age of 18 before accessing all of what the platform has to offer. This month, yet more users got caught in YouTube’s age verification net.
I’m on YouTube a lot: There aren’t many other places where I can get world news, live music performances, video game reviews, and in-depth explainers on how air conditioning works all in one spot. But YouTube’s invasive age estimation and verification practices are part of a troubling and growing trend — one that could drive me off the platform entirely.
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Papers, please
If YouTube’s systems guess that you’re under the age of 18, it’ll turn on restrictions that prevent you from seeing certain types of content on the platform. YouTube uses a pretty wide variety of signals from across your Google account, including the age of your account, the types of searches you’re making, the types of videos you’re watching, and which apps you’ve downloaded, to make this estimation.
Certain types of content aren’t allowed on YouTube at all, but plenty of what YouTube does offer is easy to categorize as inappropriate for kids. The platform doesn’t expressly forbid all content that contains violence, nudity, dangerous stunts, or profanity, and typically flags those types of videos as being adult-oriented, hiding them from accounts owned by minors.
But YouTube’s age estimation system seems prone to false positives. Reddit is chock full of reports of YouTube erroneously flagging adult users as minors and slapping content restrictions on their accounts. To lift these restrictions, users must verify their age to YouTube. You can do that by uploading a copy of a government ID showing your age, supplying a selfie for age analysis, or turning over details for a credit card with your name on it. Many users who’ve been faced with the choice are uncomfortable handing over any of this information, and I don’t think they’re wrong in that feeling.
Has YouTube asked you to verify your age? 122 votes Yes, and I uploaded my ID to verify. 3 % Yes, and I uploaded a selfie to verify. 0 % Yes, and I entered credit card information to verify. 0 % Yes, but I refused. 6 % No, YouTube has not asked me to verify my age. 87 % Something else (leave a comment). 4 %
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