Youth protection: YouTube wants to notice the age of users with machine learning

In the coming weeks, YouTube will begin to automatically assess the age of users with the help of machine learning in order to recognize children and young people and activate the relevant protective measures. If a user is falsely identified as a minor, they will have to identify themselves to YouTube accordingly. The automatic age assessment is now being tested in the USA on a limited group of users and is to be extended to other regions at a later date.

YouTube operator Google announced earlier this year that it would be testing AI methods for age recognition and greater protection of minors over the course of this year. This also includes machine learning. The aim is to protect minors from inappropriate internet content. This is because many users register on YouTube with the wrong date of birth, for example. If you don't register with YouTube, you won't be able to see all the videos.

Restrictions for automatically recognized teenagers

YouTube does not reveal details about age recognition, but explains that artificial intelligence (AI) is used to interpret a number of signs that indicate minors. These include the videos that users search for and the categories of videos that have previously been watched. The time at which the YouTube account was set up also plays a role.

If the system recognizes a user as a teenager, some parental control functions are automatically activated. These include the deactivation of personalized advertising, the activation of tools for digital well-being, such as warnings for long periods of use and bedtime, as well as restricted video recommendations, for example regarding topics that are risky for young people. This is also likely to affect videos relating to body image, which can be problematic if viewed repeatedly.

Proof of age for youthful YouTube behavior

If YouTube users are wrongly classified as young, they must provide proof of age to the video platform. YouTube suggests presenting a credit card or official ID for this purpose. A selfie may also suffice. Only after these documents have been checked will these users be granted access to age-restricted videos, such as trailers for films or games with violent content. However, this also applies to users who have not been identified and who are automatically recognized as adults.

Automatic age recognition with machine learning will be introduced in the USA in the coming weeks. According to YouTube, it has already been using this process successfully in other markets for some time, but does not provide any details. If the technology proves successful in the USA, it will also be implemented in other regions of the world.

(fds)