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YouTube age verification: scam or genuine?
Polar Bear:
Twice today and never previously I have had a prompt to do age verification on YouTube. I'm not keen on sharing images of my passport or using a bank card for this and in any event, why is this happening at all?
Is this some sort of scam or have I accidentally stumbled across something a little fruity on teh choobes?
mrcharly-YHT:
Never ever been asked and I'm perplexed by this.
Sounds like a phishing attack to me.
Cudzoziemiec:
I think you haven't necessarily found anything terribly fruity and it won't ask for any ID, just click a button to say you're over 18 or appropriate age "in your jurisdiction". Could be for anything from booze to porn.
spesh:
There were reports late last year that YouTube was going to roll out age gate verification
--- Quote ---YouTube is expanding its age gate verification requirements in Europe.
YouTube says some of its users will need to confirm their age in the coming months before watching age-restricted content. That includes many music videos that contain explicit content.
In the official blog post announcing the upcoming change, YouTube says it is to comply with EU laws. The European Union’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive requires age gating restricted content. That means users in protected regions must submit their proof of age. Documents include a valid ID or a credit card indicating the user is over the age of 18.
Today’s move is part of a broader initiative YouTube is taking to limit young users’ exposure to explicit content.
This comes just two years after a huge online backlash called Elsagate swept the platform into the national spotlight. Children were being served, seemingly innocent cartoon messages loaded with explicit references and audio.
YouTube has since worked to clean up the platform and limit these types of videos from gaining traction in its algorithm. It also launched an exclusive YouTube Kids app for a more curated approach to kid-approved content. What’s worrying is that YouTube’s algorithms will also be responsible for the age gate restriction.
YouTube says over the coming months, changes will come resulting in “more videos being age-restricted.” Any content owners who feel the age-restriction algorithm erroneously flags their content can appeal the decision. That hasn’t exactly gone over swimmingly with content creators during the YouTube Adpocalypse, however.
“To ensure content is available only to its appropriate audience, YouTube will redirect users who attempt to watch age-restricted videos on most third-party websites to its own site where they will be asked to sign in and prove they are over the age of 18,” according to the official blog post.
That means no more watching YouTube music video collections without an age gate verifying them in Europe.
It will be interesting to see how this will impact music video viewer growth as more age-restricted content comes online. This isn’t like the current YouTube age-gate where you click 18 even if you’re not and watch the video.
This verification requires an ID to be submitted to prove the owner of the account is over 18. It doesn’t stop kids from viewing explicit content on their parents’ accounts – but it does stop kids from viewing it on their own. My prediction is we’ll hear about lots of unfairly age-gated content within a few months.
--- End quote ---
https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2020/11/02/youtube-age-gate-verification-europe/
spesh:
See also reporting this week on the Online Safety Bill:
--- Quote from: Business Matters magazine ---Facebook, Google, Twitter and other tech giants will face huge fines if under-age children can access their services as part of a new duty of care to be enforced by Ofcom.
The government’s new online safety bill, published yesterday, stated that enforcing terms and conditions on minimum age thresholds would be included in plans to regulate social media.
Children under the age of 13 are not allowed to sign up to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube and those under 12 are barred from creating a Google account. WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, has a minimum age of 16.
Most social media companies rely on users self-declaring their age when they sign up. Ofcom, which will oversee the new duty of care, will have the power to recommend that particular platforms introduce age verification if they find they have failed to prevent under-age children accessing their sites.
Government sources said that Ofcom could be given stronger powers to force tech firms to carry out age checks on all users if they are found to persistently fail to enforce minimum age rules.
The move could require social media firms to demand that users upload ID to verify their age in the same way that betting firms have to check their customers are aged over 18.
All children would be barred from using WhatsApp under the move. However, social media companies have warned that it would also exclude millions of users — both young and old — from accessing social media platforms because many do not have the documentation required.
--- End quote ---
https://bmmagazine.co.uk/news/social-media-users-face-age-check-under-new-rules-to-protect-children/
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