YouTube Deploys AI-Driven Age Verification to Enhance Teen Protections in the US

YouTube announced on Tuesday the upcoming launch of a machine learning-powered age estimation system in the United States, designed to enhance protections for teenage users by providing age-appropriate experiences. The platform’s new artificial intelligence tool evaluates user behaviors, including video viewing categories, search activities, and account duration, to estimate whether a user is under 18, independent of the account’s stated birthdate. In a company blog post, YouTube explained, \"When the system identifies a teen user, we’ll automatically apply our age-appropriate experiences and protections.\" These include disabling personalized advertising, enabling digital wellbeing features, and implementing safeguards to limit repetitive content recommendations. Should a user be mistakenly classified as a minor, YouTube offers a verification process using official identification or credit card information to correct the age status. This initiative expands on previous efforts such as YouTube Kids and supervised accounts and has already been trialed in select international markets. YouTube emphasized it will carefully observe the rollout in the US before considering further expansion. \"We’re proud to again be at the forefront of introducing technology that allows us to deliver safety protections while preserving teen privacy,\" the company said. Only users inferred or verified to be 18 years or older will have access to content restricted due to age appropriateness. Throughout the deployment, YouTube confirmed it will collaborate closely with content creators and continually assess user feedback to ensure effectiveness and user experience.