YouTube said Tuesday that it has updated its technology to enable the tech giant to better enforce its age restriction policies.
Why it matters: The company has been criticized and penalized for its policies and architecture that displayed harmful content to kids and violated children's data privacy.
The company is announcing three new changes:
- It will begin using machine learning to automatically apply age restrictions to content on its platform around the world.
- It's using technology to identify age-restrictive content so that when viewers discover age-restricted videos embedded on most third-party websites, they will now be required to log in to watch those videos in order to verify their age.
- It will start to request that some users in Europe verify their age with a valid ID or credit card, in response to new EU regulations, like the Audiovisual Media Services Directive.
The big picture: The company has long had age restrictions for content, but critics have argued that its enforcement mechanisms haven't always been strong enough to protect kids.
- The company launched a standalone YouTube Kids app for users under the age of 13 last year, but many underage children still access YouTube through its main app.
- Its parent company Google was forced to pay $170 million to settle a Federal Trade Commission complaint last year that alleged YouTube illegally collected children's personal information.
