Face It! Age Verification Invades Privacy
Allara Baker | STAFF WRITER
April 09, 2026
In the current age of modern technology and social media, our jaded compliance has resulted in platforms utilizing artificial intelligence. Our algorithms depend on artificial intelligence (AI), using our personal information to show us exactly what we want to see.
We’ve become so accustomed to online surveillance that it’s something we hardly even notice anymore. But with the recent presence of AI age verification software, its invasiveness has become impossible to ignore, especially when the outputs coming from these systems are increasingly flawed.
YouTube, TikTok, Discord, and even gaming platforms like Roblox have all implemented age verification systems that require users to confirm their identity via facial scan or their governmentissued ID in order to continue using a more “user-accurate” version of their platforms. This was primarily put into place to prevent minors from having access to inappropriate content, so the platform could be adjusted algorithmically in a way that was more “suitable.” However, this identification system has brought up a plethora of new issues in what was an attempt to prevent them.
Not only is this software a gross invasion of privacy, but platforms like Discord are notorious for user data breaches, and these increased methods of surveillance have only made these weak spots more dangerous. It’s forcing us to become accustomed to the idea of the our data and personal information needing to be accessed in order to continue using essential aspects of these platforms shouldn’t be commonplace.
In late 2025, Roblox introduced their new verification system in which any user who hadn’t uploaded an ID or a picture of themselves to the website would have certain restrictions on their account. This included being unable to chat with other players, which is one of the primary forms of interaction on the platform.
Many users who did go through the facial recognition process were met with even more problems. The scanner places the user in an “age group” that corresponds to the age they determined from the scan, making it so that players can only interact with those in the same age group as them. The system continuously sorting this data incorrectly was the source of a lot of frustration.
Some of those who were placed in lower age groups were in actuality much older, and the inverse was common as well due to their “facial age.” This also made access to those who had harmful intentions much easier, as they could easily get themselves sorted into the younger category with little effort. In an attempt to create a safer environment, they only deepened the issue that was the result of the AI’s clear lack in skill and nuance in this sorting method.
On YouTube, this type of policy brought forth much greater controversy, as identity and age verification became required in order for both users and creators to ensure that “teens are treated like teens and adults are treated like adults,” as they stated in the official blog post for the update.
However, the AI’s method of sorting a specific user’s content to determine their age range, is based on account activity, account longevity, and search history. The system doesn’t deeply examine the content in question, only the category associated with it.
Any adult animation or video gameplay could just as well be sorted into a category marked for children due to its cursory appearance, even when it is intended for all ages. It also assumes that adults simply don’t watch gaming content or animated shows because they are deemed “childish”, which is just factually incorrect.
Age verification systems are not helping content reach their intended audience despite what many platforms are claiming. These changes have been especially hard on creators because they run the risk of losing a significant portion of their viewers.
If the algorithm no longer determined their user base as in the correct age range, it would affect more than just their vanity. Viewership affects monetization, and users were prevented from watching creators they had previously because it was deemed “not suitable for their age range.”
The implementation of these restrictions is ultimately the platforms shooting themselves in the foot. Because of how poorly their system’s AI processes our everyday body language, activities, and the things we watch and surround ourselves with, its adjustments don’t respond to those in a genuine way.
The concept of our bodies and lifestyles being constantly surveilled does not cross our minds, as it is an undue aspect of how we engage with others online. But the issue with these systems is that they don’t have a proper understanding of engagement. They sort us into categories incorrectly, because the ways these systems process age is simply not how we as complex individuals truly function.
While there are many methods to bypass this technology, in a flawed attempt to “protect” these media ecosystems—social media platforms are just making themselves practically unusable.