Google has announced a new system that will use artificial intelligence (AI) to automatically estimate the age of users, even if they have not provided information about their age. The system is being introduced mainly in the European Union, where new digital safety rules require platforms to protect minors from inappropriate content.
Under this new system, Google will analyze users’ search and YouTube data and estimate their age based on various signals and metadata. The aim is to determine which users are shown certain types of restricted content. According to Google, this measure is in line with data protection regulations and will help protect minors from inappropriate content.
However, privacy advocates have expressed concerns about the system. They say that there is a possibility of errors in automatic age estimation, as well as the system accessing users’ personal information without their consent. They have also questioned whether the move violates data privacy and user rights.
The system gives Google’s algorithms the power to limit users’ access to content by estimating their age based on their activity. However, the move could be a new twist in the ongoing debate over data surveillance, censorship and digital privacy.
Google claims that the system is designed to protect users, but the question is whether the company has the right to analyze users’ personal information without their consent? This question could lead to more debates about data privacy in the near future.
