Internet Platforms Struggle to Implement Age Verification; Children Deceive Systems by Drawing Beards and Mustaches

Online Age Verification: Internet platforms are introducing systems like age verification to keep children out, but children are already prepared with workarounds to bypass them.

Online Age Verification: Regulations regarding the internet are becoming increasingly strict across various countries. In light of this, access for children has become more difficult on many online platforms. Numerous platforms have implemented various checks—including age verification—to restrict access for minors; however, children have devised ingenious methods to circumvent these measures. A recent report indicates that, to pass age verification checks, children are drawing beards and mustaches on their faces to make the system perceive them as older, and they are succeeding in doing so. One parent recounted how their 12-year-old child used an eyebrow pencil to draw a mustache on their face; consequently, the age verification system misidentified the child as being 15 years old instead of 12.

Bypassing the System is Easy

To restrict access for minors, many platforms have implemented various methods for verifying age. According to reports, approximately 53 percent of children stated that, in recent times, they have been asked to verify their age on various platforms. About 46 percent of children claim that bypassing age verification is very easy. Furthermore, roughly one-third of the children surveyed admitted to having successfully done so.

Methods Adopted by Children

Many children are evading age verification by drawing beards and mustaches, while others are doing so by providing fake birth dates or using another user's ID. Still others are sidestepping the hassle of age verification by using VPNs, uploading photos or videos of adults, or accessing platforms via their parents' devices.

Various Platforms Are Implementing Age Verification

Platforms that involve features such as chatting, mature content, or teen safety are increasingly incorporating tools like age verification to enhance user safety and compliance. While Meta is utilizing AI in this regard, several other platforms are adopting different approaches. Due to regulatory mandates, the responsibility of keeping children off these platforms has been placed upon them; however, children remain prepared with methods to circumvent these measures. If these platforms employ techniques such as facial scanning, ID uploads, or AI-based age estimation, such methods carry their own inherent risks. Beyond privacy-related concerns, these approaches could also result in the erroneous flagging of legitimate users—a scenario that could give rise to a new set of problems.