Instagram started piloting a program to check users' ages in the U.S. earlier this year after coming under fire from safety advocates. It employs methods such as video selfie authentication processed by an AI system.
As reported first by TechCrunch, the service operated by Meta is now prepared to introduce this program to two significant international markets: Brazil and India.
According to market intelligence platform Sensor Tower, these nations collectively have around 400 million active monthly Instagram users.
A photo taken on March 14, 2022, shows the US social network Instagram logo on a smartphone screen in Moscow. - Instagram was inaccessible in Russia on March 14 after Moscow accused its parent company Meta of allowing calls for violence against Russians, including the military, on its platforms
Coming Soon in the UK and EU
Instagram also laid out its plans in an updated blog post to roll out this age verification feature to the UK and EU by the end of the year.
An ID can be presented by users to prove their age. At the same time, there is a list of documents that Instagram will accept for authentication.
Users of the service can post a video of themselves, which Instagram analyzes using artificial intelligence to establish whether they are actually 18 or older.
Instagram has teamed up with UK-based identity firm Yoti for this program. Following the on-screen instructions, users take a video selfie, which Meta then sends to Yoti for authentication using its trained AI. The companies claimed that they deleted the data after the verification process.
Numerous social media businesses use Yoti's age estimation technology for age verification because many users do not have a valid ID that Instagram will accept.
No More Social Vouching
The social media giant also announced that Social Vouching would no longer be an option for age verification. As part of the new initiative, one of Instagram's experimental methods for age verification called "Social Vouching" allowed users to ask their mutual followers who are 18 or older to vouch for their age.
The launch occurs as safety advocates blast Instagram for allowing children under 13 to use the service and for not doing enough to prevent teenagers from possibly viewing harmful material.
Instagram required users to input their birthdates last year, but it's difficult to rely on that component as users can simply provide incorrect information.
Twitter is also introducing a similar feature that requires users to enter their birthdates to view sensitive content, according to TechCrunch.
Instagram also noted that it uses age information to limit some experiences for teenagers. For example, it automatically makes accounts of users under 16 private, prevents DMs from unknown adults, and prevents advertisers from serving targeted ads based on the interests and behaviors of minors.
Related Article: This Instagram's Age Verification Tool Will Allow AI to Verify How Old You Are, and You Can't Deny It
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla
