Age Verification Is Everywhere Now

Tech companies, digital storefronts, and social platforms are using cutting-edge methods to verify the ages of their users.

The Big Picture: The changes come as more legislation is passed to protect kids from online dangers, including the UK’s Online Safety Act and similar laws in Texas, Utah, and Mississippi. While current rules restrict users under 13 from accessing certain content, new measures aim to extend those limits to minors under 18 — making enforcement even trickier.

Behind The Checks: The harder it is to verify ages, the more advanced the technology must be to do so.

• Apple has set up a new API that allows parents to share their child’s age range with developers — without disclosing the exact birthday.
• Meta verifies whether someone is under 18 through an ID check, which can also require a video selfie analyzed by a third party called Yoti.
• TikTok requires users to undergo a credit card check or upload their ID along with three selfies. It works with third-party company Incode to create tokens that verify age without disclosing personal information.
• Google uses AI to help verify ages by monitoring people’s Search history and YouTube activity.

Final Check: Of course, age verification isn’t without its kinks, and people have been locked out of their accounts incorrectly, according to The WSJ. And with deepfakes becoming an increasingly serious issue, tech companies must be extra vigilant in ensuring that uploaded IDs, selfies, and videos are genuine. Some British users have circumvented Discord’s age-verification tools simply by using stills from the game Death Stranding. Granted, Death Stranding does have some pretty great graphics.

Prediction: If age-gating laws are ever passed at the federal level, verifying ages while protecting privacy could become one of Silicon Valley’s toughest challenges.