Google applies age verification algorithm to Google Search

A controversial algorithmic age assurance system that Google has launched on YouTube is reportedly also being incorporated into the company’s tentpole search engine.

The age check tool uses machine learning algorithms to guess at a user’s age based on “a variety of signals,” such as search and viewing history, meaning it falls into the category of age estimation or age inference technology. The system has caused uproar among YouTube users, some 116,000 of whom have signed a petition urging Google to turn it off.

Instead, it appears to be expanding the tool’s application to Google Search. TechIssuesToday reports that users have now observed a similar age verification pop-up directly within Google Search. Per the report, which features screenshots of the pop-up, “the user who shared the screenshot noted they initially encountered the age verification prompt on YouTube while watching TechLinked, then discovered it had also appeared during their Google search sessions.”

The suggestion is made that once a user is prompted for age assurance on YouTube, they may be flagged for it across their Google account.

A separate report in PPC Land says Google began rolling out age verification for search on August 15, and that the verification process follows technical specifications established through Google’s Credential Manager API. While Tech Issues Today says there are only a couple of reported instances of the age check pop-up on Google Search, a brief in Wired says the company is rolling out the system in the EU. The full scope of the deployment remains unclear.

Still, the point is made that “Google Search limitations could significantly hamper everyday internet usage,” if users are regularly asked to prove their age when using the search tool.

Search has already taken a sharp turn with the implementation of AI summaries, and more big changes to a platform that was for years an established and stable go-to could cause more users to look to other options, such as DuckDuckGo or Bing.

Meanwhile, as it toys with AI age assurance in some jurisdictions, Google continues to muster opposition to Australia’s online safety law, which reversed course on a proposed exemption for YouTube. The tech giant is said to be recruiting its top influencers in its campaign to have the carve-out reinstated.

Article Topics

age verification  |  biometric age estimation  |  Google  |  machine learning