YouTube age verification: Difference between revisions

On July 29th, 2025, in response to the [[UK Online Safety Act|UK's Online Safety Act]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Online Safety Act: explainer |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/online-safety-act-explainer/online-safety-act-explainer |url-status=live |access-date=14 Aug 2025 |website=GOV.UK}}</ref> [[YouTube]] announced that it will be testing a new feature on its platform which scans each user's channel history (including viewed videos) with AI, to which in case of determination that the user is underage (regardless of birth date in their [[Google]] account), a government issued ID or video verification will be required to verify that the user is at least 18 years old.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Beser |first=James |date=29 Jul 2025 |title=Extending our built-in protections to more teens on YouTube |url=https://blog.youtube/news-and-events/extending-our-built-in-protections-to-more-teens-on-youtube/#:~:text=We%20will%20use,for%20younger%20users. |access-date=16 Aug 2025 |website=YouTube Official Blog}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ingram |first=Michael |date=30 Jul 2025 |title=YouTube is Rolling Out A New Controversial Feature |url=https://gamerant.com/youtube-new-age-verification-feature-id-recognition/ |url-status=live |access-date=14 Aug 2025 |website=GameRant}}</ref> If the user decides not to, their account will be unable to access age restricted, "potentially mature content" (which has been shown to include several videos critical of [[Google]] and [[YouTube]]{{Citation needed}}, whether by coincidence or not) and content deemed as problematic for repetitive consumption, on top of losing access to many creator features and abilities, if they were activated prior.