Prohibited at least 13 years old, Instagram will better control the age of its users in France. To register on the social network, it will now be necessary to send a video selfie which will be analyzed and validated by an artificial intelligence.
Instagram is strengthening its tools to verify the age of its users, and thus be sure that they are all at least 13 years old – the minimum age to register and use the platform. From now on, you have to record a video selfie, which is then subjected to an algorithm, when indicating your age in order to be able to prove you are who you claim to be. After a test phase in the United States last June, then a deployment in India and Brazil in mid-October, it is in Europe – and therefore in France – that this measure has applied since October 8, 2022. A demo version is available online, for those who wish to test the tool. The user can also import an identity document or any other official document – such as a passport or a driving license – to certify his age. As a reminder, the platform had also tested another method in June: the user had to choose three of his contacts to certify that he had passed his eighteenth birthday. but this easily diverted technique was finally abandoned.
Minors on Instagram: facial recognition with AI to control age
The platform has worked in partnership with Yoti, whose technologies have been validated by the British government and German digital regulators. You have to take a video selfie with Instagram, which will then ask the algorithms to analyze the user’s face in order to offer an estimate of their age. “Ensuring a caring and safe space for all members of its community is an absolute priority for Instagram. The platform is constantly increasing its efforts to offer the best possible experience, especially for the youngest” Instagram says in its statement.
But is it really reliable, when there are so many differences and distinct markers, like makeup, pimples or dark circles? According to one external study, Yoti’s tool is 98.89% reliable in determining whether a person is over or under 25 years old. But it is currently possible to fool the AI in other ways. The journalists of The Verge were able to test this technology and discover its limits. It is possible to fool Yoti’s tool simply by showing a photo to the camera or asking someone older to take the video selfie. There is also the question of data protection, even if the two groups claim to then delete the video selfie or official documents within 30 days and that the technology cannot recognize an identity – only detect age.
In any case, this measure is a good initiative because, if Instagram is a wonderful way to exchange and discover new things, the platform is also full of dangers. In addition to having detrimental effects on the mental health of the youngest users – and not only the youngest for that matter – they expose them to inappropriate content. If, officially, all users must be 13 years old, no verification was required before 2019. It was therefore extremely easy to lie! Since that date, the Meta group – which owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram – uses artificial intelligence to recognize the age of its users, in particular by detecting messages of the type “Happy 18e anniversary !” or by comparing dates of birth on Facebook and Instagram accounts – if they are linked. And, since 2021, it is mandatory to indicate your age to register. to Facebook Dating or to receive messages from unknown adults.