YouTube Brings Back Checking an ID: Just Like a College Bar
October 6, 2020
In the face of criticisms and penalties, YouTube turns to machine learning to keep harmful content from young eyes. A very brief post at Axios reports, “YouTube Will Use Tech Updates to Better Enforce Age Restrictions.” Writer Sara Fischer lists the three upcoming changes:
“1. [YouTube] will begin using machine learning to automatically apply age restrictions to content on its platform around the world.
2. It’s using technology to identify age-restrictive content so that when viewers discover age-restricted videos embedded on most third-party websites, they will now be required to log in to watch those videos in order to verify their age.
3. It will start to request that some users in Europe verify their age with a valid ID or credit card, in response to new EU regulations, like the Audiovisual Media Services Directive.”
Let us leave aside the ease with which youngsters can get around age verification measures. We wonder how well this AI will be able to discern age-restricted content. Sure, a lot will be obvious, even to an algorithm. But how much harmful content will slip through? We hope the software does not give the company a false sense of security. On the other hand, we expect the number of channels wrongly censored to jump—will there be enough human moderators to flip their videos’ statuses back? Some people depend on this avenue for income, after all. AI can be a valuable tool, but human oversight is still needed. Now about those health department warnings at the “Do Drop Inn”?
Cynthia Murrell, October 6, 2020
Comments
-
- Subscribe to Beyond Search
Feature archive
News archive
-
