Watching Age-Restricted Videos | Hacker News Reader

Watching Age-Restricted Videos

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Basically the EU is forcing me to create a Google account. For privacy reasons I don't use one to watch videos and I am certainly not providing an ID. So for European users non-compliant video platforms are preferable for any controversial content (Any platform will err on the side of caution when flagging content, as are users).

This is governance done wrong. Severely wrong. Your 12 year olds will find a way to content, probably on sites that are "worse" than Youtube. For Europeans everything on Youtube is now Youtube Kids.

Is creating a google account more arduous than before? I've created dozens of them (including for my kids, where I had to be less than truthful about their age), and I have never had to provide an — OMFG I HAD NOT EXPANDED THE "If you're in the EU..." LINK!

:exploding_outraged_and_bewildered_head:

OK, you are right, this is governance done wrong.

I also like to not create an account because I enjoy non-profiled search. I dislike getting served the same mush over and over. But that is just a preference.

But yeah, the real problem is that we got age filter no. 4523.

There are alternative ways, but this should work for anyone currently affected:

https://githubmemory.com/repo/zerodytrash/Simple-YouTube-Age...

I think this implementation of the EU AVMSD forces users private data to be more likely to be exposed.

> I also like to not create an account because I enjoy non-profiled search. I dislike getting served the same mush over and over.

You can disable Google's activity history, which includes YouTube videos watched. That should prevent personalised recommendations: https://myaccount.google.com/data-and-privacy

I disabled everything and can confirm that I only get garbage recommendations about things I've never watched or searched for.

That is true, but I don't think there is a necessity of having an account (aside from the EU forcing age checks) and I don't really want Google drawing conclusion about my viewing behavior either. I don't believe these options will prohibit Google from profiling you.

Definitely, it only disables the client-visible effects of tracking. But I don't think one can avoid the hidden part by watching without a Google account either.

Isn't it technically against the terms of service to have multiple accounts?

In which case, sure it might work for now, but at any point Google can decide to just lock you out of all of them.

> Isn't it technically against the terms of service to have multiple accounts?

No.

https://policies.google.com/terms?hl=en-US

I don't see anything regarding multiple accounts.

Even if not, creating more accounts increases your exposure to Google's faulty moderation infrastructure, multiplying the probability that all of your accounts get banned. Probably nonlinearly, since more accounts under same address makes you look more like a bot.

Isn't it technically against?

Who cares if it is

>Is creating a google account more arduous than before?

Not sure about in the EU, but here in the US I cannot create a google account without providing a telephone number "for security."

That's certainly different (not more arduous, but more privacy invading) from when I created other Google accounts some years back.

I just created a new Google account in the US without providing any personal details whatsoever.

That hasn't been my experience of late.

In fact, I just tried again and was asked to "verify my phone number."

Perhaps you created such an account with your phone?

In which case, Google already has that information.

The sites you use every day behave differently in different parts of the world.

A 12 year old is going to sneak a picture of their parent's credit card or ID when they are busy and not paying attention. Or an older sibling's ID. Or share a photo of a valid ID among their friends.

Youtube does not age restrict many videos, it's seriously hard finding one that's neither gore nor porn and still age restricted.

The only videos that have been asking me to prove that I’m over 18 are comedy ones that have typically been on YouTube for years.

>Youtube does not age restrict many videos, it's seriously hard finding one that's neither gore nor porn and still age restricted.

I was going to post a link to a song based on the "All your base are belong to us" meme on another site, but it was, for some unknown reason, age-restricted.

Random videos about unionization and US foreign policy have found themselves age restricted. I won't dig them all up, but here's one which was made age restricted without appeal. Does it seem like 18+ content to you?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lzlUucGTco

> Basically the EU is forcing me to create a Google account.

When I see the age gate asking me to log in, I close the tab. How will the EU stop me from doing that?

Because you are required to watch the free content

I just tested it, the close button works perfectly. I'm not required to do anything.

It's wonderful when I have to show my ID before I can watch a video of the funny man saying fuck (I'm not kidding, that's sometimes but usually not enough to get it automatically age-restricted).

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