Meta Tightens the Age Filter with Video Selfie Tech

Adshine.pro07/18/20254 views
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As governments around the world consider stricter legislation to safeguard minors online, Meta is laying the groundwork for a more expansive rollout of its video selfie age verification system—an initiative that could soon become a core element of the platform’s access protocols.


A recent update to Facebook’s Help Center signals this shift, with the language around age verification becoming more direct and policy-driven. According to the updated guidance:

“If you are under 18 and trying to change your age on Facebook to over 18 or access a Facebook feature or product intended for adults, you will be asked to give us additional information to help verify your age.”

To verify age, users will have two options: submit a government-issued ID, or take a video selfie, which will be analyzed by a third-party vendor. Meta notes:


 

“If you choose to take a video selfie, we partner with vendors who use technology to estimate your age. After you’ve taken a video selfie, we’ll share an image from that selfie with the vendor. Our vendors’ technology only estimates age. It can’t identify specific people.”


The tech powering this initiative comes from Yoti, a digital identity company that Meta has partnered with in selected regions over the past year. Now, all signs point to Meta preparing for a global expansion of this verification tool—an effort driven by a mounting wave of child safety laws.


 

Take the U.K.’s new Online Safety Act, for instance, which mandates that platforms actively block underage users from accessing adult content. Australia is also inching closer to legislating age restrictions on social media, while France, Greece, Denmark, and other EU nations have voiced support for similar measures, advocating stricter access frameworks and legal penalties for non-compliance.


Meta, interestingly, is not resisting this wave of regulation. Earlier this month, the company issued a formal statement endorsing the proposal for a Digital Majority Age across EU member states—effectively supporting the idea of restricting social media access to users 15 and older, with the potential for that threshold to rise to 16 after further consultation.


At face value, it may seem counterintuitive for a company like Meta to back measures that would reduce its user base and risk fines for non-compliance. But such a stance likely reflects a strategic calculation. By proactively aligning with regulatory trends, Meta not only stays ahead of legal pressure but also shores up its reputation as a responsible tech leader—especially as scrutiny around child safety on social platforms intensifies globally.


And this is where video selfie verification plays a pivotal role.


If proven reliable and scalable, it could become a de facto standard for age-gating in the tech industry—offering regulators a tangible enforcement mechanism and giving platforms a defensible method for compliance. As the technology matures, we could see more countries pushing for biometric or AI-driven verification systems, making them mandatory for app access among younger users.


For smaller platforms and startups, however, the prospect of implementing such sophisticated infrastructure presents a significant hurdle. Unlike Meta, they may not have the resources or partnerships to scale video-based verification systems, potentially putting them at a regulatory disadvantage. Meanwhile, companies like X (formerly Twitter), which have actively pushed back against increasing moderation demands, could find themselves in even greater conflict with emerging global standards.


Still, the underlying objective—protecting children from inappropriate content—has broad bipartisan support, particularly in light of ongoing research into the harmful effects of social media on younger audiences.


Whether video selfies become the norm or serve merely as a transitional solution, Meta’s direction is clear: it intends to lead in this space, shaping how the next generation of online safety laws are implemented and enforced.


The first step? Ensuring its infrastructure is ready—not just for the current moment, but for the regulatory landscape that’s rapidly taking shape.

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