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AI age verification is coming to YouTube, and it's almost certainly going to be a frustrating process for some people.
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In an announcement yesterday, the streaming video service says it's "extending our built-in protections" by letting AI predict your age. If the system thinks you're under 18 based on your actions, your account will automatically receive age restrictions.
Variety of signals
YouTube says it will use AI to interpret "a variety of signals" that determine whether a user is over or under 18. This includes the type of videos you search, the category of videos you watch, and the age of the account. When I reached out for more information on this, a YouTube representative stressed that the age-estimation model "does not collect any new information not already associated with the account."
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If a user is identified as under 18, YouTube says users will be notified and provided a link to prove their age.
In the meantime, YouTube will automatically apply age-appropriate protections like disabling personalized advertising, turning on digital wellbeing tools (including a screen timer, bedtime reminder, and break reminder), and safeguards to recommendations like limiting repetitive views of some kinds of content. The wellbeing protections have been around since 2023, but they were applied to accounts that honestly shared the age of the user.
YouTube explained that it has tried this system in other locations and that it has worked well so far.
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