Give us your face or lose your account: AI age verification is here and experts are worried

Since the advent of the Internet, there have been debates about how websites can ensure that explicit content is only accessed by consenting adults. Whether it was explicit songs on Spotify or outright violence on TikTok, much of this content was accessible to everyone.

With newer laws like that of the United Kingdom Online Security Act And similar laws in the USAMajor internet platforms including Reddit, Spotify and YouTube have introduced AI-powered age verification and estimation tools. Pornhub, whose parent company Aylo owns and operates a number of studios and streaming platforms, has also begun a reassessment whether to comply with age verification laws that have led to it being banned in over a dozen US states.

Both age verification and age estimation involve sending sensitive personal information to the platform you want to access. Age estimation requires one or more photos of your face; Her age is estimated from these pictures. Age…