Governments around the world have started pushing for methods to collect the identities of social media users. In about a month, Australian users will be required to provide age-verification documents such as a driver’s license, passport or credit card to access age-restricted content on the Google Play Store and YouTube.
The move is in line with Australia’s 2022 Declaration on Online Safety, which requires platforms to verify age before allowing users to view age-restricted content.
Samantha Yorke, senior manager of government affairs and public policy at Google, made the announcement in a blog post. She explained that the change is to provide users with an age-appropriate experience.
The article reads: “As part of this process, some Australian users may be asked to provide additional proof of age when attempting to watch mature content on YouTube or download content on Google Play. If our systems are unable to determine the age of the viewer, Over the age of 18, we will ask them to provide a valid ID or credit card to verify their age.”
Google said uploaded age verification files will be stored securely, will not be made public and will be deleted after verification is complete. However, it will use the uploaded files to improve its verification service for Google products and prevent fraud and abuse.
People attempting to watch age-restricted content on third-party sites will be redirected to YouTube for age verification. This helps ensure that no matter where a video is found, it can only be viewed by the appropriate audience, Yorke wrote.
Right now, the EU has implemented the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, which has age verification requirements similar to Australia’s 2022 Declaration on Online Safety. Meta is also developing parental monitoring tools on Instagram and Quest. The company wants guardians and parents to be more involved in their teen experience.
A parental monitoring tool on Instagram, which allows parents to control time spent on the app, is already available in the US. The monitoring tool also notifies parents when a child reports someone and allows them to see who their child has followed and who has followed them back.