Google said it will soon start testing a machine learning-powered model that will help determine if a user is under 18 or not. This will first roll out in the United States later this year and eventually expand to more countries. In a blog post, Google said that the new technique will be applicable across all Google products including YouTube and will automatically apply a number of changes for those under 18. This includes restricting sensitive ad content, enabling SafeSearch Filter and gating age-restricted videos on YouTube. The tech giant is also rolling out a new feature in Google Messages that shows you a sensitive content warning. While those over 18 can choose to opt out, teens and kids who want to turn off the functionality will have to get their parent's consent. According a CNET, Google's AI model will make use of various data points associated with an account like what they are searching for, the categories of videos they watch and the age of their account. If the model incorrectly flags a user for being under 18, the publication says they can verify their age by sharing a government-issued ID card, or credit card and even share a selfie. The tech giant also said that it plans to expand the ways one can verify their age. In November last year, Meta also started testing a new AI-powered tool called "Adult Classifier" that helps determine if a person signing up for Instagram is a teen or an adult.
