Advances in Age Verification for Facebook
The social media company, Facebook, has never allowed users below the age of 13 to make accounts on its platform. However, preventing the creation of underage accounts hasn’t always been a successful effort. As Facebook strives to prevent children from utilizing their platforms, new regulations will make it more difficult to engage on the platform without proper age verification. But how will Facebook manage to keep underage users off the platform? The social media company promises to leverage numerous approaches, including new advancements in artificial intelligence (AI).
The Challenge of Age Representation
Though Facebook has always created barriers to entry for users below the age of 13, internet-savvy underage users have often found ways to counteract these barriers. Currently, Facebook utilizes an age screen when users first sign up for an account. On the age screen, a user must include their birth date; any user younger than 13 will be refused an account. Beyond this, Facebook has mainly relied on the vigilance of other users, who can flag and report suspicious accounts once underage users inevitably bypass the age screen and create accounts. Once suspicious accounts have been reported, Facebook will delete them if these accounts fail age requirement checks.
While ID collection might seem like the solution to the age verification challenge, many users may also not want to share their IDs due to privacy concerns. With a complicated set of problems to address, Facebook’s artificial intelligence teams may be providing the solution to this need for advanced age verification.
AI for Age Verification?
Artificial intelligence has been at the center of online data collection for years, with many industries taking advantage of its potential. Travel companies use AI-powered chatbots to book hotels in a flash. Google Maps implements AI to support its algorithms when determining the best routes. Marketing companies wield AI to build dynamic profiles of their consumers based on well-documented purchasing habits. Each of these industry examples highlights the use of AI to address complex online challenges.
Facebook’s history of AI usage is extensive; the platform has already implemented AI for image recognition as well as for helping public health officials understand how COVID-19 has been spreading. Now, Facebook is in the process of building AI-driven technologies for deducting the ages of its users. Facebook will use different AI-based methods for age analysis, like examining posts celebrating a user’s birthday, or observing age data on apps linked through Facebook, such as Instagram. Facebook will follow sophisticated data collection techniques to gather relevant information available through their platforms; the collected data will then support their AI-focused technologies.
Partnerships in Online Safety
To build a safe internet environment for users under 13, Facebook will also partner with actors in online privacy, youth development, psychology, and parenting. Creating unique platform experiences for users of a certain age is one major goal for the platform: The brand soon plans to establish a tween-specific Instagram experience.
To align with the wave of new internet-based regulations, Facebook will also seek the guidance of lawmakers and elected officials to address internet safety concerns. These discussions will help Facebook develop different standards for their technologies.
As social media platforms like Facebook establish new rules and methods for gatekeeping users, the future of platform verification may rely heavily on advancements enabled by artificial intelligence.
