In a press release published on Monday 28 July, X announced that it was updating its methods for verifying the age of its users, in accordance with “the UK Online Safety Act, the Irish Online Safety Code and the European Union’s Digital Services Act” (DSA) (see EUROPE 13680/15).
The platform, which already uses several different ways to check the age of its users, also announced that it has withdrawn access to certain content, particularly pornographic content, until the appropriate checks are carried out.
X claims to rely on several pieces of information that are already accessible: the date the account was created (before 2012), voluntary verification of identity cards, and self-declaration or ‘badges’, which generally indicate public persons or official institutions.
In the event that these methods are inconclusive, X has announced that it will offer users two choices: an estimate of age via a photo analysed by artificial intelligence, or analysis of an official identity document.
“If a user is determined to be under 18, they will be defaulted into sensitive media settings, and will not be able to access sensitive media”, says the platform in its press release.
The Commission recently published ‘guidelines’ for social platforms and networks, urging them to implement verification methods ‘approved’ by the institution and in line with the DSA (see EUROPE 13680/16). (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)