Children are bypassing age-verification with simple tricks

Some age-verification systems are proving to be no match for enterprising children, who are successfully bypassing checks on adult websites using simple, low-tech methods. Some children bypass these checks by pointing their webcams at adult-looking characters in video games, while others simply pull obscure or funny faces to skirt the checks altogether. In other instances, children are drawing on fake mustaches with makeup pencils to trick the automated systems into identifying them as older.

The scale of the issue was highlighted in a survey of a thousand children conducted by Internet Matters, a UK-based nonprofit. The organization reported that about half of the children surveyed said that age checks were easy to bypass. The survey revealed that children have a clear awareness of how to bypass these checks, either through their own experiences or by hearing about methods from others. According to the Internet Matters report, “One technique brought up was children drawing facial hair on themselves so that the tools verifying them would think they were older, which was reported as working in multiple instances.”

These workarounds are emerging as age-verification laws continue to roll out in the United Kingdom, which spurred much of the global effort, and across half of all U.S. states. These regulations are often introduced “under the guise of online child safety,” requiring adults to prove their age, typically by uploading a copy of their driver’s license or passport to a third-party company before being allowed into an adult website. Critics argue that these laws allow the creation of databases that can be hacked or leaked, threatening the open and decentralized internet.

To comply with these expanding laws, technology companies are adjusting their platforms. Apple has rolled out software updates to device owners to comply with the growing number of age-checking laws. Web companies like Reddit and Meta are using a combination of requiring users to upload their government-issued documents and “creepy guesswork” that involves algorithmically guessing a person’s age. Meanwhile, other platforms, such as Discord, have delayed their rollouts of age verification amid user backlash and security issues.

Why it matters

As age-verification laws roll out globally, the ease with which children bypass these systems raises significant questions about the efficacy of current compliance methods like document uploads and algorithmic guessing.