Age verification is increasingly becoming a requirement on many social media platforms, demanding either an ID or facial scan to access everything from YouTube to Roblox fully. This trend is accompanied by calls for enhanced child safety measures online, despite concerns about privacy, security, and censorship.
In the US, lawmakers are advancing bills like the App Store Accountability Act and Parents Over Platforms Act to make app stores verify users’ ages themselves.
Discord has postponed the global rollout of age verification due to user backlash until later in 2026, but plans continue despite a previous data breach that leaked some users’ scanned IDs. Meanwhile, platforms like ChatGPT and Google are using AI models to identify and restrict accounts suspected of being underage until identity verification confirms the user’s age.
Follow below for the latest updates on age verification for internet services and apps:
– Discord will not implement global age verification on its platform as previously announced, delaying the launch to later in 2026. The company plans to offer users more ways to verify their age and include documentation of verification vendors used.
– Discord is distancing itself from the age verification provider Persona after user backlash.
– The App Store Accountability Act is essentially a significant legal effort to ensure age verification in the digital space.
– OpenAI introduces age prediction features to ChatGPT to safeguard underage users.
– Roblox requires age verification for chat features, with Persona technology being used for age checks.
Stay tuned for more developing stories as online platforms continue to navigate the complexities of age verification and user safety measures.