Overview

• On August 13, YouTube initiated a limited U.S. rollout of an AI model that infers users’ ages using watch and search activity along with account longevity.
• Accounts identified as under 18 automatically receive teen safety measures, including non-personalized ads, digital wellbeing tools and restrictions on age-restricted content.
• Users misclassified as minors can appeal by providing a government ID, a selfie or a credit card to restore their full platform privileges.
• More than 70,000 people signed a Change.org petition and several creators warn the system could curb their ad revenue and erode audience trust.
• Privacy experts and researchers caution that the model’s data collection practices and potential demographic biases mirror wider industry concerns over automated age checks.