Google Is About to Guess Your Age. Here Is What That Means

Google will start checking users' ages in Canada in the next few days. Its computer system will try to find users under 18 and give those accounts extra safety settings. The Globe and Mail

The launch will be slow. The system looks at information already tied to an account, such as what a person searches for and what kinds of YouTube videos they watch. It is like guessing age from interests rather than asking for ID. Google says it will not collect new information just for this check.

Google Canada shared the plan on its official blog under the title "Ensuring safer online experiences for Canadian kids and teens". Google Canada blog If the system thinks a user may be younger than 18, Google says it will tell them by email and while they use Google products. That account will get extra protections, such as limits on content suggestions. An adult flagged by mistake can prove age with government ID or a selfie.

In Ottawa, the file sits with Jeanette Patell, Google Canada's director of government affairs and public policy. She deals with federal interest in online safety and provincial concerns about youth privacy, education and child welfare.

Meta is doing similar work. It has already started using AI in Canada to find users who may be underage and place them in teen accounts. In September, Meta said it would expand testing of this technology outside the United States, including Canada. The Globe and Mail

Meta also uses account behaviour already on file. Its AI looks for hints such as birthday posts to spot accounts that may belong to someone underage. In May, Meta said it would also scan photos and videos for hints about age. Persona, an identity vendor, is separately testing the tricks teens use to look older online. Reuters

American rules do not apply directly in Canada. Under a U.S. settlement, Meta can temporarily use some data from children it finds to train a system to spot users under 13. Reuters Meta has confirmed the child-protection steps promised in that U.S. settlement will not come to Canada.

Parliament has not yet passed a law. The Liberal government introduced digital safety Bill C-34, which has not become law. The bill would require social media platforms to at least temporarily block access for children under 16. Parliament has not passed it.

The broader context here is about who sets the rules first. Company systems across Canada are now running before Ottawa has set a national standard. Ottawa must decide between company-led age checks with a way to appeal, or a law with a set age limit. Provinces will judge the same tools by their effects on schools, child protection and privacy enforcement.

For Parliament, the questions now are practical. How often are adults flagged by mistake, and how hard is it to prove age with ID or a selfie. Does the system really use only information it already has. Do safety settings for under-18 accounts meet the tougher rule in Bill C-34 to at least temporarily block under-16s. Those answers will shape committee work, new rules and talks between Ottawa and the provinces on enforcement.