Google to begin using age assurance tech to identify underage accounts in Canada
The system will use machine learning signals already tied to accounts and let adults flagged in error verify their age.
- On Monday, Google Canada announced the gradual rollout of AI-driven age-assurance technology in the coming days to identify underage accounts and enhance safety protections for younger users.
- This deployment follows global regulatory shifts, including Australia's December implementation of social media age restrictions, and coincides with Canada's Liberal government introducing digital safety Bill C-34, which proposes blocking access for children under 16.
- Google uses machine learning to interpret existing signals such as search history and YouTube video categories, while employing "visual analysis" to scan photos and videos for "visual clues" to determine account age.
- Flagged accounts receive additional content safeguards, while Jeanette Patell, director of government affairs and public policy at Google Canada, says adults mistakenly identified as under 18 can verify age using government ID or a selfie.
- Platforms are increasingly adopting age-assurance tools, with Meta already using AI to identify underage users in Canada, reflecting a broader industry trend toward proactive compliance ahead of formal legal requirements.
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37 Articles
Google's age confirmation technology, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to detect minor users, arrives in Canada.
The tool comes in the wake of Bill C-34, which limits the age of access to social networks.
Google's age confirmation technology, which uses artificial intelligence to detect minor users, arrives in Canada.
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