How do you feel about getting your face scanned to use the internet?

From American Public Media, this is Marketplace Tech.

I'm Megan McCarty Karino. Reno. I think we can all agree the internet can be a dangerous place for kids.

Earlier this year the US Surgeon General called for a warning label on social

media for minors and a growing number of states are requiring online age

verification for certain sites. Now many platforms are adding a safeguard that

comes with its own set of trade-offs, facial scanning.

These systems use artificial intelligence to analyze visual clues,

sometimes in conjunction with a government ID,

to keep those it deems too young from accessing a site.

In the process, they collect all kinds of identifying data, and like any tool, are susceptible to errors that could potentially bar adults from the internet.

Tech reporter Drew Harwell recently wrote about the proliferation and risks of these systems for the Washington Post.

He says they're getting hard to avoid.

A lot of the most popular websites on the internet, including, you know, Facebook, Instagram, Tik-Tock, you know delivery services,

gaming sites, social media sites, porn sites all started running new users through this age verification check.

And what it looks like basically is if you're creating an account

or trying to change the birthday or trying to do something that

only adults should be able to use on this site

it'll ask you to look into your webcam or your phone camera and you know move the

phone around a little bit so it can get a 3D view of your face basically and then it says

whether you are an adult or underage. And then of course there are an increasing number of

states that have passed laws that require age verification.

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