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   YouTube set to test AI-powered age checks in the US  will the UK be next?   
      
   Date:   
   Tue, 05 Aug 2025 09:23:39 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   In just seven days, the UK has introduced age checks for online minors,   
   Australia has blocked YouTube and other social networks, and now YouTube is   
   rolling out AI age checks in the US.   
      
   FULL STORY   
      
   YouTube has announced the introduction of AI-based checks to determine the    
   age of viewers.    
      
   This news comes days after a complete ban on YouTube access for under-16s in   
   Australia, and the introduction of age verification checks in the UK under    
   the Online Safety Act.    
      
   Trialing the technology with a sample audience in the US, YouTube plans to   
   expand it across the country, tailoring experiences based on the viewers age.    
      
   This doesnt just mean blocking unsuitable content. Personalized advertising   
   will also be disabled for children, while older viewers will be required to   
   provide government-issued ID to confirm their age if the AI gets it wrong.   
      
   YouTubes built-in protections   
      
   In a blog post , Director of Product Management for YouTube Youth, James   
   Beser, wrote that "machine learning age estimation" is being employed to   
   protect teens on YouTube.    
      
   Distinguishing the new measures from previous incentives such as YouTube Kids   
   and supervised accounts for teens, Beser explained that the platform would   
   work towards presenting age-appropriate videos.    
      
   "Over the next few weeks, well begin to roll out machine learning to a small   
   set of users in the US to estimate their age, so that teens are treated as   
   teens and adults as adults," said Beser.    
      
   Machine learning will record the searches and video categories, and the AI   
   will make decisions based on these and other factors, including the age of    
   the account.    
      
   "This technology will allow us to infer a users age and then use that signal,   
   regardless of the birthday in the account, to deliver our age-appropriate   
   product experiences and protections," Beser adds.    
      
   These protections include disabling personalized advertising when children    
   are watching, and switching on digital wellbeing tools. (These currently   
   include break reminders, daily timers, and even a bedtime reminder.) In   
   addition, recommendations will be safeguarded, with blocks on some repeated   
   content.    
      
   These measures would seem to be VPN-proof, too. There would be no point any   
   government banning VPNs if the AI-based measures are universal and cannot be   
   circumvented.   
      
   What's next?    
      
   Over the years, criticism of YouTubes granular content controls has resulted   
   in a subscription service (YouTube Kids), supervised accounts, and Google   
   Family Link integration.    
      
   The timing of this announcement, following the decision to include YouTube in   
   Australias under-16s social media ban, cannot be a coincidence.    
      
   After all, it looks like this is not just a US-only endeavor. We are now   
   bringing it to the US, and as we make progress, well roll it out in other   
   markets, Beser writes.    
      
   Considering recent events, the UK would seem to be high on that list of   
   markets, followed by key EU nations imposing age verification measures.   
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/youtube-set-to-test-ai-powe   
   red-age-checks-in-the-us-will-the-uk-be-next   
      
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