If the system determines that a user is under 18, the rules for teenagers will automatically apply: advertising will no longer be personalized and safeguards in recommendations will be activated.

YouTube has begun testing an artificial intelligence (AI) tool to identify the age of its users in the United States, to better protect minors from online content and browsing habits deemed inappropriate for them.

"This technology will allow us to infer a user's age and use that signal—regardless of the date of birth indicated in the account—to offer tailored experiences and protections," Google's video platform explained in a blog post at the end of July. The testing phase on a portion of US users began Wednesday, according to a message sent to content creators.

"Different signals"

The technology is supposed to interpret "various signals," such as the types of videos searched for and watched, or the age of the account. If the system determines that a user is under 18, the rules for teenagers will automatically apply: advertising will no longer be personalized, and safeguards in recommendations will be activated, notably to limit repeated viewing of certain content.

In the event of an error, the person "will have the opportunity to prove that they are 18 years of age or older, for example by using a credit card or government-issued ID," YouTube said. The streaming service added that it has already successfully tested this system elsewhere and plans to expand it to other markets.

YouTube and many other platforms, led by Instagram (Meta) and TikTok, are regularly accused of harming the health of children and adolescents and of failing to adequately protect them from dangers, addiction, harmful content, and criminals. Many countries and US states are seeking to force tech giants to ensure compliance with user age regulations.

Australia recently decided to ban YouTube for children under 16 to protect them from "predatory algorithms," according to Communications Minister Anika Wells. The Australian Parliament had already passed a pioneering law in 2024 banning access to social media sites such as TikTok, X, Facebook, and Instagram for children under 16, but YouTube was not included.