#age-estimation — Public Fediverse posts

Blog: I’m Suspicious About Age Verification Tech Online…

For a few years now, questions about how to verify the age of various people on the internet have been flying around, especially as it pertains to keeping pornography out of kids’ hands. Most of the time, the verification works on an honor system, where a popup appears, asks if you’re XYZ age, and you can click yes or no. Obviously, however, this isn’t a good system as people will inevitably lie about their age to access whatever they’re trying to access. It’s the same with social media sites where often, you can just lie about your age when it asks for your birthday as you’re making your account.

Thus, because of the obvious flaws with this system, tech companies, often when faced with mounting legal pressure to do so, have started looking into new, more accurate ways of figuring out the age of their users…and the way it’s going is quite invasive. Now, quite a few companies such as YouTube, Discord, Roblox, and others are demanding that users submit a government issued ID or allow the app to scan their face so AI can guess their age. If you don’t, either the app will restrict what features you can use or it will be almost completely unusable.

While on the surface, this seems like a good idea so these tech companies can prevent children from seeing adult content or being groomed, there is a big issue with allowing them to have your ID or to scan your face: where is it being stored? And how safe is your info?

Though many of these companies will say that the image of your ID will be promptly deleted and that the scan of your face is processed on your phone so it’s not being stored by a third party, we’ve found over the years that those assurances sometimes turn out to be lies. For example, in September of last year, Discord experienced a massive data breach, in which the hackers managed to access the third-party customer support services, stealing people’s IDs, names, emails, usernames, billing info, etc. And just think about how many times you get alerts that such-and-such social media site has experienced a data breach. A lot of your info is already out there – do you really want them having access to more of it, especially if your kids’ info is involved?

Additionally, when Roblox rolled their age verification system a few months ago, it soon proved to be incredibly easy to sneak around. People figured out that you could use AI platforms such as Sora to get past the facial age estimation. Pedophiles on the platform, not wanting to lose access to kids, also started buying and trading age verified accounts for whatever age bracket they wanted to prey on.

Speaking about the age verification, this method is also flawed due to the fact that AI is incapable of telling the actual age of a person. It can estimate it, but some people look younger than they are while others look much older, making these estimates inaccurate. In fact, some people have complained that the age verification on Discord thought they were teenagers when they’re adults and made it almost unusable by putting them on the teen setting.

But besides the obvious issues regarding submitting your ID to random tech companies who profit off of selling your data, or doing a face scan, we need to ask if we’re really comfortable with trading extremely sensitive information about ourselves in exchange for being able to chat with friends or play a game. Do I support the idea that certain websites should require an ID to access (i.e. porn sites.) Yes? But when it comes to other websites such as social media, then I have to question if it’s really worth it. Do they not have a better way of keeping people safe without invading our privacy?

Until next time,

M.J.

Blog: I’m Suspicious About Age Verification Tech Online…

For a few years now, questions about how to verify the age of various people on the internet have been flying around, especially as it pertains to keeping pornography out of kids’ hands. Most of the time, the verification works on an honor system, where a popup appears, asks if you’re XYZ age, and you can click yes or no. Obviously, however, this isn’t a good system as people will inevitably lie about their age to access whatever they’re trying to access. It’s the same with social media sites where often, you can just lie about your age when it asks for your birthday as you’re making your account.

Thus, because of the obvious flaws with this system, tech companies, often when faced with mounting legal pressure to do so, have started looking into new, more accurate ways of figuring out the age of their users…and the way it’s going is quite invasive. Now, quite a few companies such as YouTube, Discord, Roblox, and others are demanding that users submit a government issued ID or allow the app to scan their face so AI can guess their age. If you don’t, either the app will restrict what features you can use or it will be almost completely unusable.

While on the surface, this seems like a good idea so these tech companies can prevent children from seeing adult content or being groomed, there is a big issue with allowing them to have your ID or to scan your face: where is it being stored? And how safe is your info?

Though many of these companies will say that the image of your ID will be promptly deleted and that the scan of your face is processed on your phone so it’s not being stored by a third party, we’ve found over the years that those assurances sometimes turn out to be lies. For example, in September of last year, Discord experienced a massive data breach, in which the hackers managed to access the third-party customer support services, stealing people’s IDs, names, emails, usernames, billing info, etc. And just think about how many times you get alerts that such-and-such social media site has experienced a data breach. A lot of your info is already out there – do you really want them having access to more of it, especially if your kids’ info is involved?

Additionally, when Roblox rolled their age verification system a few months ago, it soon proved to be incredibly easy to sneak around. People figured out that you could use AI platforms such as Sora to get past the facial age estimation. Pedophiles on the platform, not wanting to lose access to kids, also started buying and trading age verified accounts for whatever age bracket they wanted to prey on.

Speaking about the age verification, this method is also flawed due to the fact that AI is incapable of telling the actual age of a person. It can estimate it, but some people look younger than they are while others look much older, making these estimates inaccurate. In fact, some people have complained that the age verification on Discord thought they were teenagers when they’re adults and made it almost unusable by putting them on the teen setting.

But besides the obvious issues regarding submitting your ID to random tech companies who profit off of selling your data, or doing a face scan, we need to ask if we’re really comfortable with trading extremely sensitive information about ourselves in exchange for being able to chat with friends or play a game. Do I support the idea that certain websites should require an ID to access (i.e. porn sites.) Yes? But when it comes to other websites such as social media, then I have to question if it’s really worth it. Do they not have a better way of keeping people safe without invading our privacy?

Until next time,

M.J.

Blog: I’m Suspicious About Age Verification Tech Online…

For a few years now, questions about how to verify the age of various people on the internet have been flying around, especially as it pertains to keeping pornography out of kids’ hands. Most of the time, the verification works on an honor system, where a popup appears, asks if you’re XYZ age, and you can click yes or no. Obviously, however, this isn’t a good system as people will inevitably lie about their age to access whatever they’re trying to access. It’s the same with social media sites where often, you can just lie about your age when it asks for your birthday as you’re making your account.

Thus, because of the obvious flaws with this system, tech companies, often when faced with mounting legal pressure to do so, have started looking into new, more accurate ways of figuring out the age of their users…and the way it’s going is quite invasive. Now, quite a few companies such as YouTube, Discord, Roblox, and others are demanding that users submit a government issued ID or allow the app to scan their face so AI can guess their age. If you don’t, either the app will restrict what features you can use or it will be almost completely unusable.

While on the surface, this seems like a good idea so these tech companies can prevent children from seeing adult content or being groomed, there is a big issue with allowing them to have your ID or to scan your face: where is it being stored? And how safe is your info?

Though many of these companies will say that the image of your ID will be promptly deleted and that the scan of your face is processed on your phone so it’s not being stored by a third party, we’ve found over the years that those assurances sometimes turn out to be lies. For example, in September of last year, Discord experienced a massive data breach, in which the hackers managed to access the third-party customer support services, stealing people’s IDs, names, emails, usernames, billing info, etc. And just think about how many times you get alerts that such-and-such social media site has experienced a data breach. A lot of your info is already out there – do you really want them having access to more of it, especially if your kids’ info is involved?

Additionally, when Roblox rolled their age verification system a few months ago, it soon proved to be incredibly easy to sneak around. People figured out that you could use AI platforms such as Sora to get past the facial age estimation. Pedophiles on the platform, not wanting to lose access to kids, also started buying and trading age verified accounts for whatever age bracket they wanted to prey on.

Speaking about the age verification, this method is also flawed due to the fact that AI is incapable of telling the actual age of a person. It can estimate it, but some people look younger than they are while others look much older, making these estimates inaccurate. In fact, some people have complained that the age verification on Discord thought they were teenagers when they’re adults and made it almost unusable by putting them on the teen setting.

But besides the obvious issues regarding submitting your ID to random tech companies who profit off of selling your data, or doing a face scan, we need to ask if we’re really comfortable with trading extremely sensitive information about ourselves in exchange for being able to chat with friends or play a game. Do I support the idea that certain websites should require an ID to access (i.e. porn sites.) Yes? But when it comes to other websites such as social media, then I have to question if it’s really worth it. Do they not have a better way of keeping people safe without invading our privacy?

Until next time,

M.J.

Blog: I’m Suspicious About Age Verification Tech Online…

For a few years now, questions about how to verify the age of various people on the internet have been flying around, especially as it pertains to keeping pornography out of kids’ hands. Most of the time, the verification works on an honor system, where a popup appears, asks if you’re XYZ age, and you can click yes or no. Obviously, however, this isn’t a good system as people will inevitably lie about their age to access whatever they’re trying to access. It’s the same with social media sites where often, you can just lie about your age when it asks for your birthday as you’re making your account.

Thus, because of the obvious flaws with this system, tech companies, often when faced with mounting legal pressure to do so, have started looking into new, more accurate ways of figuring out the age of their users…and the way it’s going is quite invasive. Now, quite a few companies such as YouTube, Discord, Roblox, and others are demanding that users submit a government issued ID or allow the app to scan their face so AI can guess their age. If you don’t, either the app will restrict what features you can use or it will be almost completely unusable.

While on the surface, this seems like a good idea so these tech companies can prevent children from seeing adult content or being groomed, there is a big issue with allowing them to have your ID or to scan your face: where is it being stored? And how safe is your info?

Though many of these companies will say that the image of your ID will be promptly deleted and that the scan of your face is processed on your phone so it’s not being stored by a third party, we’ve found over the years that those assurances sometimes turn out to be lies. For example, in September of last year, Discord experienced a massive data breach, in which the hackers managed to access the third-party customer support services, stealing people’s IDs, names, emails, usernames, billing info, etc. And just think about how many times you get alerts that such-and-such social media site has experienced a data breach. A lot of your info is already out there – do you really want them having access to more of it, especially if your kids’ info is involved?

Additionally, when Roblox rolled their age verification system a few months ago, it soon proved to be incredibly easy to sneak around. People figured out that you could use AI platforms such as Sora to get past the facial age estimation. Pedophiles on the platform, not wanting to lose access to kids, also started buying and trading age verified accounts for whatever age bracket they wanted to prey on.

Speaking about the age verification, this method is also flawed due to the fact that AI is incapable of telling the actual age of a person. It can estimate it, but some people look younger than they are while others look much older, making these estimates inaccurate. In fact, some people have complained that the age verification on Discord thought they were teenagers when they’re adults and made it almost unusable by putting them on the teen setting.

But besides the obvious issues regarding submitting your ID to random tech companies who profit off of selling your data, or doing a face scan, we need to ask if we’re really comfortable with trading extremely sensitive information about ourselves in exchange for being able to chat with friends or play a game. Do I support the idea that certain websites should require an ID to access (i.e. porn sites.) Yes? But when it comes to other websites such as social media, then I have to question if it’s really worth it. Do they not have a better way of keeping people safe without invading our privacy?

Until next time,

M.J.

Blog: I’m Suspicious About Age Verification Tech Online…

For a few years now, questions about how to verify the age of various people on the internet have been flying around, especially as it pertains to keeping pornography out of kids’ hands. Most of the time, the verification works on an honor system, where a popup appears, asks if you’re XYZ age, and you can click yes or no. Obviously, however, this isn’t a good system as people will inevitably lie about their age to access whatever they’re trying to access. It’s the same with social media sites where often, you can just lie about your age when it asks for your birthday as you’re making your account.

Thus, because of the obvious flaws with this system, tech companies, often when faced with mounting legal pressure to do so, have started looking into new, more accurate ways of figuring out the age of their users…and the way it’s going is quite invasive. Now, quite a few companies such as YouTube, Discord, Roblox, and others are demanding that users submit a government issued ID or allow the app to scan their face so AI can guess their age. If you don’t, either the app will restrict what features you can use or it will be almost completely unusable.

While on the surface, this seems like a good idea so these tech companies can prevent children from seeing adult content or being groomed, there is a big issue with allowing them to have your ID or to scan your face: where is it being stored? And how safe is your info?

Though many of these companies will say that the image of your ID will be promptly deleted and that the scan of your face is processed on your phone so it’s not being stored by a third party, we’ve found over the years that those assurances sometimes turn out to be lies. For example, in September of last year, Discord experienced a massive data breach, in which the hackers managed to access the third-party customer support services, stealing people’s IDs, names, emails, usernames, billing info, etc. And just think about how many times you get alerts that such-and-such social media site has experienced a data breach. A lot of your info is already out there – do you really want them having access to more of it, especially if your kids’ info is involved?

Additionally, when Roblox rolled their age verification system a few months ago, it soon proved to be incredibly easy to sneak around. People figured out that you could use AI platforms such as Sora to get past the facial age estimation. Pedophiles on the platform, not wanting to lose access to kids, also started buying and trading age verified accounts for whatever age bracket they wanted to prey on.

Speaking about the age verification, this method is also flawed due to the fact that AI is incapable of telling the actual age of a person. It can estimate it, but some people look younger than they are while others look much older, making these estimates inaccurate. In fact, some people have complained that the age verification on Discord thought they were teenagers when they’re adults and made it almost unusable by putting them on the teen setting.

But besides the obvious issues regarding submitting your ID to random tech companies who profit off of selling your data, or doing a face scan, we need to ask if we’re really comfortable with trading extremely sensitive information about ourselves in exchange for being able to chat with friends or play a game. Do I support the idea that certain websites should require an ID to access (i.e. porn sites.) Yes? But when it comes to other websites such as social media, then I have to question if it’s really worth it. Do they not have a better way of keeping people safe without invading our privacy?

Until next time,

M.J.

Oh yes, and then there is this! 😄

"Leading facial #AgeEstimation tools were easily fooled by a $22 "old man" mask, a Guy Fawkes mask, and other cheap party costumes, researchers have found."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-02/social-media-ban-vpns-masks-age-checks-disguises/105836134

#AgeVerification #DigitalRights #privacy #Australia #SocialMediaBan

Oh yes, and then there is this! 😄

"Leading facial #AgeEstimation tools were easily fooled by a $22 "old man" mask, a Guy Fawkes mask, and other cheap party costumes, researchers have found."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-02/social-media-ban-vpns-masks-age-checks-disguises/105836134

#AgeVerification #DigitalRights #privacy #Australia #SocialMediaBan

Oh yes, and then there is this! 😄

"Leading facial #AgeEstimation tools were easily fooled by a $22 "old man" mask, a Guy Fawkes mask, and other cheap party costumes, researchers have found."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-02/social-media-ban-vpns-masks-age-checks-disguises/105836134

#AgeVerification #DigitalRights #privacy #Australia #SocialMediaBan

Oh yes, and then there is this! 😄

"Leading facial #AgeEstimation tools were easily fooled by a $22 "old man" mask, a Guy Fawkes mask, and other cheap party costumes, researchers have found."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-02/social-media-ban-vpns-masks-age-checks-disguises/105836134

#AgeVerification #DigitalRights #privacy #Australia #SocialMediaBan

Oh yes, and then there is this! 😄

"Leading facial #AgeEstimation tools were easily fooled by a $22 "old man" mask, a Guy Fawkes mask, and other cheap party costumes, researchers have found."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-02/social-media-ban-vpns-masks-age-checks-disguises/105836134

#AgeVerification #DigitalRights #privacy #Australia #SocialMediaBan

Age Verification, Estimation, Assurance, Oh My! A Guide To The Terminology

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.techdirt.com/2025/11/24/age-verification-estimation-assurance-oh-my-a-guide-to-the-terminology/

Age Verification, Estimation, Assurance, Oh My! A Guide To The Terminology

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.techdirt.com/2025/11/24/age-verification-estimation-assurance-oh-my-a-guide-to-the-terminology/

Age Verification, Estimation, Assurance, Oh My! A Guide To The Terminology

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.techdirt.com/2025/11/24/age-verification-estimation-assurance-oh-my-a-guide-to-the-terminology/

Age Verification, Estimation, Assurance, Oh My! A Guide To The Terminology

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.techdirt.com/2025/11/24/age-verification-estimation-assurance-oh-my-a-guide-to-the-terminology/

Age Verification, Estimation, Assurance, Oh My! A Guide To The Terminology

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.techdirt.com/2025/11/24/age-verification-estimation-assurance-oh-my-a-guide-to-the-terminology/

#Roblox is expanding its #ageestimation technology to #allusers by the end of the year, utilising #facialrecognition to verify age. The company is also partnering with the International Age Rating Coalition (#IARC) to provide standardised #ageratings and #contentratings for #games and #apps on its platform. https://techcrunch.com/2025/09/03/roblox-expands-use-of-age-estimation-tech-and-introduces-standardized-ratings/?eicker.news #tech #media #news

#Roblox is expanding its #ageestimation technology to #allusers by the end of the year, utilising #facialrecognition to verify age. The company is also partnering with the International Age Rating Coalition (#IARC) to provide standardised #ageratings and #contentratings for #games and #apps on its platform. https://techcrunch.com/2025/09/03/roblox-expands-use-of-age-estimation-tech-and-introduces-standardized-ratings/?eicker.news #tech #media #news

#Roblox is expanding its #ageestimation technology to #allusers by the end of the year, utilising #facialrecognition to verify age. The company is also partnering with the International Age Rating Coalition (#IARC) to provide standardised #ageratings and #contentratings for #games and #apps on its platform. https://techcrunch.com/2025/09/03/roblox-expands-use-of-age-estimation-tech-and-introduces-standardized-ratings/?eicker.news #tech #media #news

#Roblox is expanding its #ageestimation technology to #allusers by the end of the year, utilising #facialrecognition to verify age. The company is also partnering with the International Age Rating Coalition (#IARC) to provide standardised #ageratings and #contentratings for #games and #apps on its platform. https://techcrunch.com/2025/09/03/roblox-expands-use-of-age-estimation-tech-and-introduces-standardized-ratings/?eicker.news #tech #media #news

#Roblox is expanding its #ageestimation technology to #allusers by the end of the year, utilising #facialrecognition to verify age. The company is also partnering with the International Age Rating Coalition (#IARC) to provide standardised #ageratings and #contentratings for #games and #apps on its platform. https://techcrunch.com/2025/09/03/roblox-expands-use-of-age-estimation-tech-and-introduces-standardized-ratings/?eicker.news #tech #media #news

The Facial-Recognition Sham | The Atlantic

Losing anonymous internet access means giving companies and government agencies more power than ever to track our activities online. It means transforming the American conception of the open internet into something reminiscent of the centralized tracking systems we’ve long opposed in China and similar countries. At this moment, the prospect of an internet linked to our real identity has never felt so threatening.

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2025/08/facial-recognition-sham/683831/

#ageEstimation #ageVerification #censorship #onlineSafety #onlineSafetyAct #surveillance #teaApp #VPN

The Facial-Recognition Sham | The Atlantic

Losing anonymous internet access means giving companies and government agencies more power than ever to track our activities online. It means transforming the American conception of the open internet into something reminiscent of the centralized tracking systems we’ve long opposed in China and similar countries. At this moment, the prospect of an internet linked to our real identity has never felt so threatening.

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2025/08/facial-recognition-sham/683831/

#ageEstimation #ageVerification #censorship #onlineSafety #onlineSafetyAct #surveillance #teaApp #VPN

The Facial-Recognition Sham | The Atlantic

Losing anonymous internet access means giving companies and government agencies more power than ever to track our activities online. It means transforming the American conception of the open internet into something reminiscent of the centralized tracking systems we’ve long opposed in China and similar countries. At this moment, the prospect of an internet linked to our real identity has never felt so threatening.

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2025/08/facial-recognition-sham/683831/

#ageEstimation #ageVerification #censorship #onlineSafety #onlineSafetyAct #surveillance #teaApp #VPN

#Google is rolling out an #ML-powered #ageestimation model in the #US to determine if users are under or over 18. The model will enable existing #protections for users #under18, including #YouTube #DigitalWellbeing tools, disabling Timeline in Maps, and restricting age-sensitive ad categories. https://9to5google.com/2025/07/30/google-accounts-age-estimation/?eicker.news #tech #media #news

#Google is rolling out an #ML-powered #ageestimation model in the #US to determine if users are under or over 18. The model will enable existing #protections for users #under18, including #YouTube #DigitalWellbeing tools, disabling Timeline in Maps, and restricting age-sensitive ad categories. https://9to5google.com/2025/07/30/google-accounts-age-estimation/?eicker.news #tech #media #news

#Google is rolling out an #ML-powered #ageestimation model in the #US to determine if users are under or over 18. The model will enable existing #protections for users #under18, including #YouTube #DigitalWellbeing tools, disabling Timeline in Maps, and restricting age-sensitive ad categories. https://9to5google.com/2025/07/30/google-accounts-age-estimation/?eicker.news #tech #media #news

#Google is rolling out an #ML-powered #ageestimation model in the #US to determine if users are under or over 18. The model will enable existing #protections for users #under18, including #YouTube #DigitalWellbeing tools, disabling Timeline in Maps, and restricting age-sensitive ad categories. https://9to5google.com/2025/07/30/google-accounts-age-estimation/?eicker.news #tech #media #news

#Google is rolling out an #ML-powered #ageestimation model in the #US to determine if users are under or over 18. The model will enable existing #protections for users #under18, including #YouTube #DigitalWellbeing tools, disabling Timeline in Maps, and restricting age-sensitive ad categories. https://9to5google.com/2025/07/30/google-accounts-age-estimation/?eicker.news #tech #media #news

Google begins machine learning age detection for ad protections in US: Google rolls out AI-powered age estimation to limit personalized ads for minors. https://ppc.land/google-begins-machine-learning-age-detection-for-ad-protections-in-us/ #Google #MachineLearning #AgeEstimation #AIPowered #AdProtection

Google begins machine learning age detection for ad protections in US: Google rolls out AI-powered age estimation to limit personalized ads for minors. https://ppc.land/google-begins-machine-learning-age-detection-for-ad-protections-in-us/ #Google #MachineLearning #AgeEstimation #AIPowered #AdProtection

Google begins machine learning age detection for ad protections in US: Google rolls out AI-powered age estimation to limit personalized ads for minors. https://ppc.land/google-begins-machine-learning-age-detection-for-ad-protections-in-us/ #Google #MachineLearning #AgeEstimation #AIPowered #AdProtection

#YouTube is rolling out #ageestimation technology in the #US to identify #teenusers and provide a more age-appropriate experience. The technology will use #varioussignals to determine a user’s age and apply new #protections, including disabling #personalisedadvertising and enabling #digitalwellbeing tools. https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/29/youtube-rolls-out-age-estimatation-tech-to-identify-u-s-teens-and-apply-additional-protections/?eicker.news #tech #media #news

#YouTube is rolling out #ageestimation technology in the #US to identify #teenusers and provide a more age-appropriate experience. The technology will use #varioussignals to determine a user’s age and apply new #protections, including disabling #personalisedadvertising and enabling #digitalwellbeing tools. https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/29/youtube-rolls-out-age-estimatation-tech-to-identify-u-s-teens-and-apply-additional-protections/?eicker.news #tech #media #news

#YouTube is rolling out #ageestimation technology in the #US to identify #teenusers and provide a more age-appropriate experience. The technology will use #varioussignals to determine a user’s age and apply new #protections, including disabling #personalisedadvertising and enabling #digitalwellbeing tools. https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/29/youtube-rolls-out-age-estimatation-tech-to-identify-u-s-teens-and-apply-additional-protections/?eicker.news #tech #media #news

#YouTube is rolling out #ageestimation technology in the #US to identify #teenusers and provide a more age-appropriate experience. The technology will use #varioussignals to determine a user’s age and apply new #protections, including disabling #personalisedadvertising and enabling #digitalwellbeing tools. https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/29/youtube-rolls-out-age-estimatation-tech-to-identify-u-s-teens-and-apply-additional-protections/?eicker.news #tech #media #news

#YouTube is rolling out #ageestimation technology in the #US to identify #teenusers and provide a more age-appropriate experience. The technology will use #varioussignals to determine a user’s age and apply new #protections, including disabling #personalisedadvertising and enabling #digitalwellbeing tools. https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/29/youtube-rolls-out-age-estimatation-tech-to-identify-u-s-teens-and-apply-additional-protections/?eicker.news #tech #media #news

#Roblox is introducing a new #ageestimation tool requiring users to take a #videoselfie to verify they are #over13. Users 13-17 can add each other as “Trusted Connections” for unfiltered chats, while teens can only add adults they know in person. The tool, developed with #Persona, aims to enhance safety. https://www.theverge.com/news/708670/roblox-trusted-connections-age-estimation-privacy?Metaver.se #Metaverse #VirtualWorlds #XR #VR #MR #AR #BeyondPictures

#Roblox is introducing a new #ageestimation tool requiring users to take a #videoselfie to verify they are #over13. Users 13-17 can add each other as “Trusted Connections” for unfiltered chats, while teens can only add adults they know in person. The tool, developed with #Persona, aims to enhance safety. https://www.theverge.com/news/708670/roblox-trusted-connections-age-estimation-privacy?Metaver.se #Metaverse #VirtualWorlds #XR #VR #MR #AR #BeyondPictures

#Roblox is introducing a new #ageestimation tool requiring users to take a #videoselfie to verify they are #over13. Users 13-17 can add each other as “Trusted Connections” for unfiltered chats, while teens can only add adults they know in person. The tool, developed with #Persona, aims to enhance safety. https://www.theverge.com/news/708670/roblox-trusted-connections-age-estimation-privacy?Metaver.se #Metaverse #VirtualWorlds #XR #VR #MR #AR #BeyondPictures

#Roblox is introducing a new #ageestimation tool requiring users to take a #videoselfie to verify they are #over13. Users 13-17 can add each other as “Trusted Connections” for unfiltered chats, while teens can only add adults they know in person. The tool, developed with #Persona, aims to enhance safety. https://www.theverge.com/news/708670/roblox-trusted-connections-age-estimation-privacy?Metaver.se #Metaverse #VirtualWorlds #XR #VR #MR #AR #BeyondPictures

#Roblox is introducing a new #ageestimation tool requiring users to take a #videoselfie to verify they are #over13. Users 13-17 can add each other as “Trusted Connections” for unfiltered chats, while teens can only add adults they know in person. The tool, developed with #Persona, aims to enhance safety. https://www.theverge.com/news/708670/roblox-trusted-connections-age-estimation-privacy?Metaver.se #Metaverse #VirtualWorlds #XR #VR #MR #AR #BeyondPictures

Australia: “Teen social media trial isn’t testing some ways kids will get around the [social media age verification] ban” | @crikey_news

AV: “here’s how we protect children, sign here!”

Australia: “Awesome! <pays money>”

AV: “…aaaaand here’s what we *won’t* do…”

Australia: “…um, wait, what?”

Age Verification is a grift.

Separate, but linked, was a $6.5 million trial commissioned by the government to investigate how a social media minimum age could be enforced. Its findings would inform the “reasonable steps” established by the government that social media companies would have to take when gauging a user’s age in order to enforce the teen social media ban.

The Age Assurance Technology Trial’s winning tenderer was a coalition led by UK company Age Check Certification Scheme (ACCS). The coalition would be responsible for assessing “age assurance technologies” — like digital ID, facial analysis and other novel methods of figuring out someone’s age online — for “effectiveness, maturity, and readiness for use in the Australian context”, and publishing a report on its findings.

The ACCS project plan, written in November before the law was passed or the tender was publicly awarded, said the group would test the technologies for detecting fake documents, deepfaked video and other security exploits.

Several months later, after the law had been passed and the tender awarded, the ACCS published an evaluation proposal plan that laid out which “circumvention” methods would and wouldn’t be tested. 

Continues. Go read at:

https://www.crikey.com.au/2025/06/20/teen-social-media-ban-trial-all-methods-vpns-parents-help/

#ageAssurance #ageEstimation #ageVerification #australia #censorship #socialMediaBan

Australia: “Teen social media trial isn’t testing some ways kids will get around the [social media age verification] ban” | @crikey_news

AV: “here’s how we protect children, sign here!”

Australia: “Awesome! <pays money>”

AV: “…aaaaand here’s what we *won’t* do…”

Australia: “…um, wait, what?”

Age Verification is a grift.

Separate, but linked, was a $6.5 million trial commissioned by the government to investigate how a social media minimum age could be enforced. Its findings would inform the “reasonable steps” established by the government that social media companies would have to take when gauging a user’s age in order to enforce the teen social media ban.

The Age Assurance Technology Trial’s winning tenderer was a coalition led by UK company Age Check Certification Scheme (ACCS). The coalition would be responsible for assessing “age assurance technologies” — like digital ID, facial analysis and other novel methods of figuring out someone’s age online — for “effectiveness, maturity, and readiness for use in the Australian context”, and publishing a report on its findings.

The ACCS project plan, written in November before the law was passed or the tender was publicly awarded, said the group would test the technologies for detecting fake documents, deepfaked video and other security exploits.

Several months later, after the law had been passed and the tender awarded, the ACCS published an evaluation proposal plan that laid out which “circumvention” methods would and wouldn’t be tested. 

Continues. Go read at:

https://www.crikey.com.au/2025/06/20/teen-social-media-ban-trial-all-methods-vpns-parents-help/

#ageAssurance #ageEstimation #ageVerification #australia #censorship #socialMediaBan

Australia: “Teen social media trial isn’t testing some ways kids will get around the [social media age verification] ban” | @crikey_news

AV: “here’s how we protect children, sign here!”

Australia: “Awesome! <pays money>”

AV: “…aaaaand here’s what we *won’t* do…”

Australia: “…um, wait, what?”

Age Verification is a grift.

Separate, but linked, was a $6.5 million trial commissioned by the government to investigate how a social media minimum age could be enforced. Its findings would inform the “reasonable steps” established by the government that social media companies would have to take when gauging a user’s age in order to enforce the teen social media ban.

The Age Assurance Technology Trial’s winning tenderer was a coalition led by UK company Age Check Certification Scheme (ACCS). The coalition would be responsible for assessing “age assurance technologies” — like digital ID, facial analysis and other novel methods of figuring out someone’s age online — for “effectiveness, maturity, and readiness for use in the Australian context”, and publishing a report on its findings.

The ACCS project plan, written in November before the law was passed or the tender was publicly awarded, said the group would test the technologies for detecting fake documents, deepfaked video and other security exploits.

Several months later, after the law had been passed and the tender awarded, the ACCS published an evaluation proposal plan that laid out which “circumvention” methods would and wouldn’t be tested. 

Continues. Go read at:

https://www.crikey.com.au/2025/06/20/teen-social-media-ban-trial-all-methods-vpns-parents-help/

#ageAssurance #ageEstimation #ageVerification #australia #censorship #socialMediaBan

Michael Geist Notes Inclusion of Age Estimation in Bill S-209

With the introduction of age verification, I ran an analysis of the bill. Michael Geist did the same and noted the age estimation provisions.

https://www.freezenet.ca/michael-geist-notes-inclusion-of-age-estimation-in-bill-s-209/

#Censorship #News #AgeEstimation #AgeVerification #BillS209 #Canada #legislation #MichaelGeist

Michael Geist Notes Inclusion of Age Estimation in Bill S-209

With the introduction of age verification, I ran an analysis of the bill. Michael Geist did the same and noted the age estimation provisions.

https://www.freezenet.ca/michael-geist-notes-inclusion-of-age-estimation-in-bill-s-209/

#Censorship #News #AgeEstimation #AgeVerification #BillS209 #Canada #legislation #MichaelGeist

Michael Geist Notes Inclusion of Age Estimation in Bill S-209

With the introduction of age verification, I ran an analysis of the bill. Michael Geist did the same and noted the age estimation provisions.

https://www.freezenet.ca/michael-geist-notes-inclusion-of-age-estimation-in-bill-s-209/

#Censorship #News #AgeEstimation #AgeVerification #BillS209 #Canada #legislation #MichaelGeist

Michael Geist Notes Inclusion of Age Estimation in Bill S-209

With the introduction of age verification, I ran an analysis of the bill. Michael Geist did the same and noted the age estimation provisions.

https://www.freezenet.ca/michael-geist-notes-inclusion-of-age-estimation-in-bill-s-209/

#Censorship #News #AgeEstimation #AgeVerification #BillS209 #Canada #legislation #MichaelGeist

Michael Geist Notes Inclusion of Age Estimation in Bill S-209

With the introduction of age verification, I ran an analysis of the bill. Michael Geist did the same and noted the age estimation provisions.

https://www.freezenet.ca/michael-geist-notes-inclusion-of-age-estimation-in-bill-s-209/

#Censorship #News #AgeEstimation #AgeVerification #BillS209 #Canada #legislation #MichaelGeist

Why I Emphatically Oppose Online Age Verification Mandates | Technology & Marketing Law Blog

Eric Goldman on fire, again:

I hold uncompromising views on this topic. For reasons I explain in 63 anguished and tear-stained pages, I am a categorical “no” on all online age authentication mandates. To me…

To me, it doesn’t matter what the laws are called, how the authentication duties are styled, what sales hooks the vendors use to obfuscate their solutions’ deficiencies, or what hypothetical fantasy outcomes policymakers think will materialize if the technologists just “nerd harder”–I oppose them all.

https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2025/04/why-i-emphatically-oppose-online-age-verification-mandates.htm

#ageAssurance #ageEstimation #ageVerification #ericGoldman

Why I Emphatically Oppose Online Age Verification Mandates | Technology & Marketing Law Blog

Eric Goldman on fire, again:

I hold uncompromising views on this topic. For reasons I explain in 63 anguished and tear-stained pages, I am a categorical “no” on all online age authentication mandates. To me…

To me, it doesn’t matter what the laws are called, how the authentication duties are styled, what sales hooks the vendors use to obfuscate their solutions’ deficiencies, or what hypothetical fantasy outcomes policymakers think will materialize if the technologists just “nerd harder”–I oppose them all.

https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2025/04/why-i-emphatically-oppose-online-age-verification-mandates.htm

#ageAssurance #ageEstimation #ageVerification #ericGoldman

Why I Emphatically Oppose Online Age Verification Mandates | Technology & Marketing Law Blog

Eric Goldman on fire, again:

I hold uncompromising views on this topic. For reasons I explain in 63 anguished and tear-stained pages, I am a categorical “no” on all online age authentication mandates. To me…

To me, it doesn’t matter what the laws are called, how the authentication duties are styled, what sales hooks the vendors use to obfuscate their solutions’ deficiencies, or what hypothetical fantasy outcomes policymakers think will materialize if the technologists just “nerd harder”–I oppose them all.

https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2025/04/why-i-emphatically-oppose-online-age-verification-mandates.htm

#ageAssurance #ageEstimation #ageVerification #ericGoldman

"Government must stop restricting website access with laws requiring age verification.

Some advocates of these censorship schemes argue we can nerd our way out of the many harms they cause to speech, equity, privacy, and infosec. Their silver bullet? “Age estimation” technology that scans our faces, applies an algorithm, and guesses how old we are – before letting us access online content and opportunities to communicate with others. But when confronted with age estimation face scans, many people will refrain from accessing restricted websites, even when they have a legal right to use them. Why?

Because quite simply, age estimation face scans are creepy AF – and harmful. First, age estimation is inaccurate and discriminatory. Second, its underlying technology can be used to try to estimate our other demographics, like ethnicity and gender, as well as our names. Third, law enforcement wants to use its underlying technology to guess our emotions and honesty, which in the hands of jumpy officers is likely to endanger innocent people. Fourth, age estimation face scans create privacy and infosec threats for the people scanned. In short, government should be restraining this hazardous technology, not normalizing it through age verification mandates."

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/01/face-scans-estimate-our-age-creepy-af-and-harmful

#USA #AgeVerification #AgeEstimation #Surveillance #Privacy #CyberSecurity #FaceScans

"Government must stop restricting website access with laws requiring age verification.

Some advocates of these censorship schemes argue we can nerd our way out of the many harms they cause to speech, equity, privacy, and infosec. Their silver bullet? “Age estimation” technology that scans our faces, applies an algorithm, and guesses how old we are – before letting us access online content and opportunities to communicate with others. But when confronted with age estimation face scans, many people will refrain from accessing restricted websites, even when they have a legal right to use them. Why?

Because quite simply, age estimation face scans are creepy AF – and harmful. First, age estimation is inaccurate and discriminatory. Second, its underlying technology can be used to try to estimate our other demographics, like ethnicity and gender, as well as our names. Third, law enforcement wants to use its underlying technology to guess our emotions and honesty, which in the hands of jumpy officers is likely to endanger innocent people. Fourth, age estimation face scans create privacy and infosec threats for the people scanned. In short, government should be restraining this hazardous technology, not normalizing it through age verification mandates."

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/01/face-scans-estimate-our-age-creepy-af-and-harmful

#USA #AgeVerification #AgeEstimation #Surveillance #Privacy #CyberSecurity #FaceScans

"Government must stop restricting website access with laws requiring age verification.

Some advocates of these censorship schemes argue we can nerd our way out of the many harms they cause to speech, equity, privacy, and infosec. Their silver bullet? “Age estimation” technology that scans our faces, applies an algorithm, and guesses how old we are – before letting us access online content and opportunities to communicate with others. But when confronted with age estimation face scans, many people will refrain from accessing restricted websites, even when they have a legal right to use them. Why?

Because quite simply, age estimation face scans are creepy AF – and harmful. First, age estimation is inaccurate and discriminatory. Second, its underlying technology can be used to try to estimate our other demographics, like ethnicity and gender, as well as our names. Third, law enforcement wants to use its underlying technology to guess our emotions and honesty, which in the hands of jumpy officers is likely to endanger innocent people. Fourth, age estimation face scans create privacy and infosec threats for the people scanned. In short, government should be restraining this hazardous technology, not normalizing it through age verification mandates."

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/01/face-scans-estimate-our-age-creepy-af-and-harmful

#USA #AgeVerification #AgeEstimation #Surveillance #Privacy #CyberSecurity #FaceScans

"Government must stop restricting website access with laws requiring age verification.

Some advocates of these censorship schemes argue we can nerd our way out of the many harms they cause to speech, equity, privacy, and infosec. Their silver bullet? “Age estimation” technology that scans our faces, applies an algorithm, and guesses how old we are – before letting us access online content and opportunities to communicate with others. But when confronted with age estimation face scans, many people will refrain from accessing restricted websites, even when they have a legal right to use them. Why?

Because quite simply, age estimation face scans are creepy AF – and harmful. First, age estimation is inaccurate and discriminatory. Second, its underlying technology can be used to try to estimate our other demographics, like ethnicity and gender, as well as our names. Third, law enforcement wants to use its underlying technology to guess our emotions and honesty, which in the hands of jumpy officers is likely to endanger innocent people. Fourth, age estimation face scans create privacy and infosec threats for the people scanned. In short, government should be restraining this hazardous technology, not normalizing it through age verification mandates."

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/01/face-scans-estimate-our-age-creepy-af-and-harmful

#USA #AgeVerification #AgeEstimation #Surveillance #Privacy #CyberSecurity #FaceScans

"Government must stop restricting website access with laws requiring age verification.

Some advocates of these censorship schemes argue we can nerd our way out of the many harms they cause to speech, equity, privacy, and infosec. Their silver bullet? “Age estimation” technology that scans our faces, applies an algorithm, and guesses how old we are – before letting us access online content and opportunities to communicate with others. But when confronted with age estimation face scans, many people will refrain from accessing restricted websites, even when they have a legal right to use them. Why?

Because quite simply, age estimation face scans are creepy AF – and harmful. First, age estimation is inaccurate and discriminatory. Second, its underlying technology can be used to try to estimate our other demographics, like ethnicity and gender, as well as our names. Third, law enforcement wants to use its underlying technology to guess our emotions and honesty, which in the hands of jumpy officers is likely to endanger innocent people. Fourth, age estimation face scans create privacy and infosec threats for the people scanned. In short, government should be restraining this hazardous technology, not normalizing it through age verification mandates."

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/01/face-scans-estimate-our-age-creepy-af-and-harmful

#USA #AgeVerification #AgeEstimation #Surveillance #Privacy #CyberSecurity #FaceScans

»Judge allows #California's #ban on #addictivefeeds for #minors to go into effect: From 2027 onward, companies will be required to use “#ageassurance techniques,” like #ageestimation models.« https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/31/judge-allows-californias-ban-on-addictive-feeds-for-minors-to-go-into-effect/?eicker.news #tech #media

»Judge allows #California's #ban on #addictivefeeds for #minors to go into effect: From 2027 onward, companies will be required to use “#ageassurance techniques,” like #ageestimation models.« https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/31/judge-allows-californias-ban-on-addictive-feeds-for-minors-to-go-into-effect/?eicker.news #tech #media

»Judge allows #California's #ban on #addictivefeeds for #minors to go into effect: From 2027 onward, companies will be required to use “#ageassurance techniques,” like #ageestimation models.« https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/31/judge-allows-californias-ban-on-addictive-feeds-for-minors-to-go-into-effect/?eicker.news #tech #media