YouTube will start using machine learning to determine whether viewers should be on a teen account. The company said it plans to start using this AI application on a subset of US users in the coming weeks for a trial before rolling it out to the rest of the market. The tool will assess user behaviors including the types of videos being searched for, the categories of videos watched and how long the account has existed. When an account is deemed by machine learning to belong to a teen, YouTube will disable personalized advertising, activate digital wellbeing tools and add other safeguards for its younger users.Since introducing supervised teen accounts in 2021, YouTube has continued to add protections aimed at its younger users. The company noted that it has been using this machine learning approach "in other markets for some time, where it is working well."YouTube isn't the only service to leverage an AI tool to catch users who might be lying about their age. However, it's putting the burden of correcting false positives on its users: "If the system incorrectly estimates a user to be under 18, they will have the option to verify that they are 18 or over, such as using a credit card or a government ID." Meta has a similar tool it began rolling out across Facebook, Instagram and Messenger earlier this year, but it lets people simply change their settings if the AI tool incorrectly guesses their age.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/youtube/youtube-is-turning-over-age-verification-to-ai-185634150.html?src=rss

Google has reached a settlement over a lawsuit that claimed it illegally collected data from child users without parental consent through its YouTube video platform and then sent them targeted ads. The tech giant will shell out $30 million to settle the proposed class-action suit. According to Reuters, the plaintiffs' lawyers said there could be 35 million to 45 million class members. Children aged 13 or younger who watched YouTube between July 1, 2013 and April 1, 2020 could be covered. The proposed settlement was filed last night and now awaits judge approval.This settlement amounts to a slap on the wrist compared to the $170 million fine Google faced in 2019 following a similar suit brought by the Federal Trade Commission for alleged violations of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. Under the terms of that case, YouTube had agreed to stop collecting data on videos aimed at children, and both YouTube and Google were prohibited from future COPPA violations.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/youtube/google-to-pay-30-million-to-settle-class-action-suit-over-childrens-privacy-193903510.html?src=rss