restricted mode can be turned on through the settings of your youtube account. this will allow you to see what youtube would look like if you’re determined to be under 18. age restricted videos don’t show up under restricted mode so use it to find those videos and watch as much as you possibly can. these videos can range from lgbtq+ topics to creators talking about their distaste towards youtube/google or videos that have a lot of swearing or explicit language in them

and i’m gonna say this next thing and it’s gonna sound stupid and obvious but it’s important: do not panic this change can still be fought back against even in small ways like 1-star review bombing the youtube app on whatever you can (google play, apple app store, etc) or changing your youtube profile to clippy you might be wondering, how does this help at all? well even if in the grand scheme of things a couple thousand bad reviews realistically won’t do much and neither willchanging your profile picture to clippy it shows your willing to unite with those around you to bring about change no matter how small it may be

if you haven’t see the video on why by Louis Rossmann here it is: https://youtu.be/2_Dtmpe9qaQ as well as his follow up: https://youtu.be/SkL9vzW7nY0) basic rundown is it is a silent protest against the new privacy invading techniques of youtube and it shows if you are willing to change your profile picture to clippy a symbol of a bygone era where tech never used to ask for all this personal info then you will also be able to act in the good will of people and do whatever you possibly can to work towards more change for the better of the internet and privacy

at the end of the day panic, fear, and dare i say subservience is what youtube wants and you won’t think rationally in a state of panic. things will be okay i know thats a crazy thing to say with what’s going on but there will be pushback against this and even if this situation is definitely seeming uncertain now things will definitely be clearer as time passes do everything in your power to prevent things from getting worse i’m going to link three creators who i think have been extremely outspoken and helpful and are also where i get a lot of my information from because it’s always better to form your own opinions based on the information you yourself consume feel free to check em out if you want i recommend supporting these creators and more if you can find any

remember guys do not give in your personal info no matter what and stay safe on the internet https://m.youtube.com/@rossmanngroup https://m.youtube.com/@DeepHumor https://m.youtube.com/@CerosTelevision

TLDR: support creators who speak out about the ai age verification system and try to search out videos youtube has age restricted along with that join small protests against these systems to being more people’s attention to the current issue of online privacy

youtube claims the ai understands that adults can enjoy those things too so that isn’t the only factor is goes off of so there’s that but i just don’t know how true that is especially speaking about ai

i have a few posts explaining the whole “august 13th” ai age verification on my account if you want more information but the basic rundown is that youtube is going to be scanning your account watch history, how old the account is, and what you search on youtube to determine your age using an ai age verification model if it marks you as being under 18 a lot of content will be hidden from you and the only way to fix this is to hand in extremely personal info like your ID, face scan, or credit card which is a huge invasion of privacy and when this data gets leaked it basically will end up doxxing you

this only applies if you’re in america though but i believe youtube has stated they’d be open to expanding it outside of just the us alone