Iconic “Keyboard Cat” Video from Youtube. August 27th, 2025. Photo Credit: Tye Brown/The Sentinel
The internet is an essential part of everyday life for many people. Unlimited information can be found on the world wide web that helps people daily. So, what happens when some of that information gets restricted due to the use of AI? That is a question that a major social media site is having to grapple with.
On July 29, 2025, a YouTube Official Blog post written by Director of Product Mangement for YouTube Youth, James Beser, announced new built-in protections on YouTube through AI age verification.
This comes shortly after the UK government passed legislation for AI age verification. Now, U.S. citizens are expressing similar grievances and creating backlash towards YouTube.
The controversy stems from adult users feeling insulted that AI could mark them as a child and that to be classed as an adult, confidential information must be given to YouTube.
This is because of how the AI age verification of YouTube works. According to Beser, the AI will examine the videos that a user watches on YouTube and will estimate the age of the user.
If the AI mistakes an adult user for a child, it can only be corrected by giving YouTube private information, such as a government ID or credit card.
According to Jory MacKay from Identity Guard, ID and credit card information is the type of information hackers want. Even if YouTube deletes the data, it might not be deleted automatically, which puts users at a heightened risk for identity theft.
Going further, the blog post didn’t acknowledge the subjectivity of this program. For example, it is unclear how much content deemed for children an adult can watch to before they’re classified as underaged.
Unless a user only watches adult content or the news, there’s a chance that the AI age verification could deem them a child. This means that many adult users could be forced to provide YouTube with private information.
The fact that internet use for an adult could be limited if they don’t send confidential information to YouTube represents a new era of the internet that infantizes adults. If an adult watches media more suited for children and is identified as a child by AI, it creates a picture that users cannot be trusted to consume content on their own without company interference.
For YouTube to use AI to verify age, adult users must accept possibly giving private information to a company or at the very least be mindful of what they watch on YouTube.
So far, no major concerns have arisen since YouTube implemented the program a month ago, but it is too early to know how safe AI age verification is.
It is only a matter of time before privacy issues arise with the collection of confidential information and monitored internet use.
