Signing up and using YouTube prior to a few months back was a lot easier than it is now, and it’s not like it is still some hard core business now but YouTube as of now, after its protection law violation in 2019, has gotten a lot stricter with its privacy policies than it was ever before.
Back in 2019, YouTube got caught in a legal act where it was claimed to have broken the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act due to which the online video platform had to pay 170 million dollars as a fine, which is probably the biggest one it had to pay.
This violation of law means that minors who did not cross the required age limit of the usage of the application were found using it with full accessibility, which clearly showed the lacking of the applications age verification system.
However, after the payment of this fine, YouTube has now started sending notification to all its users to verify themselves to be of the required age limit that the platform asks. As from now for verification purposes, the tech giant upon your sign in will ask for your ID card or Credit Card image. The company also assures users for safety purposes that once it has verified the age of user it will immediately delete off the image of the ID card while in case of Credit Cards, the tech giant will have to authorize a small amount to check the validity of the card, however will not charge any amount.
The tech giant also warns users that it only requires them to upload their documents for verification on a dedicated website once they are fully logged in on their accounts.
In case, any messages to send emails of those documents for verification is received should be avoided to save themselves from scam or hacking because that is not the company's way of collecting such intimate information.
The company policy does not state that you have to be 18 plus to be an active user on YouTube, the guideline states that the platform is for the age 13 years and plus, and though rightly so ID and credit card can mostly be presented by adults, 13 years and more can also verify themselves with some documents which the company will accept as well. However, it is not like children under the age of 13 cannot use YouTube, they will be able to sign up as well, but, parent’s supervision will be required.
Anybody failing to verify themselves will see their account being deactivated within 14 days, and after 30 days of not being able to provide authentic verification for age, the company will erase any kind of account information.
This is a rather great step taken by the tech giant because the internet can sometimes be negative place or harsh environment for users, and considering how minors were given accessibility to features greater than their age limit could have impacted their mental health as well. Kudos, to YouTube for coming up with a solution and we sincerely hope it is implemented and abided on by the public as well.
Screenshot: YT.
Read next: YouTube starts testing new policy violation emails which include time stamps and reasons, thus offering more transparency
Back in 2019, YouTube got caught in a legal act where it was claimed to have broken the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act due to which the online video platform had to pay 170 million dollars as a fine, which is probably the biggest one it had to pay.
This violation of law means that minors who did not cross the required age limit of the usage of the application were found using it with full accessibility, which clearly showed the lacking of the applications age verification system.
However, after the payment of this fine, YouTube has now started sending notification to all its users to verify themselves to be of the required age limit that the platform asks. As from now for verification purposes, the tech giant upon your sign in will ask for your ID card or Credit Card image. The company also assures users for safety purposes that once it has verified the age of user it will immediately delete off the image of the ID card while in case of Credit Cards, the tech giant will have to authorize a small amount to check the validity of the card, however will not charge any amount.
The tech giant also warns users that it only requires them to upload their documents for verification on a dedicated website once they are fully logged in on their accounts.
In case, any messages to send emails of those documents for verification is received should be avoided to save themselves from scam or hacking because that is not the company's way of collecting such intimate information.
The company policy does not state that you have to be 18 plus to be an active user on YouTube, the guideline states that the platform is for the age 13 years and plus, and though rightly so ID and credit card can mostly be presented by adults, 13 years and more can also verify themselves with some documents which the company will accept as well. However, it is not like children under the age of 13 cannot use YouTube, they will be able to sign up as well, but, parent’s supervision will be required.
Anybody failing to verify themselves will see their account being deactivated within 14 days, and after 30 days of not being able to provide authentic verification for age, the company will erase any kind of account information.
This is a rather great step taken by the tech giant because the internet can sometimes be negative place or harsh environment for users, and considering how minors were given accessibility to features greater than their age limit could have impacted their mental health as well. Kudos, to YouTube for coming up with a solution and we sincerely hope it is implemented and abided on by the public as well.
Read next: YouTube starts testing new policy violation emails which include time stamps and reasons, thus offering more transparency
