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Spotify threatens to delete accounts that fail age-verification
Spotify has threatened to delete people’s accounts if they fail new age verification checks.
The music streaming app, which has nearly 700m users, said it would remove accounts that fail age estimation checks within 90 days as it seeks to block younger teenagers and children from accessing explicit music and videos.
“You cannot use Spotify if you don’t meet the minimum age requirements for the market you’re in,” a new page on Spotify’s website reads. “If you cannot confirm you’re old enough to use Spotify, your account will be deactivated and eventually deleted.”
On Wednesday, social media users began reporting a new pop-up appearing within the music streaming service asking listeners to verify their age using Yoti, a smartphone app that uses face-scanning technology to estimate a person’s age.
Those judged to appear underage will be asked to complete a further ID check. The accounts of users that fail to pass an ID check within 90 days will be deleted.
Spotify said users who are asked to verify their age could decline to undertake the check, but they would be blocked from accessing adult videos.
“Some users will now have to confirm their age by going through an age assurance process,” Spotify said. “For example, when a user attempts to watch a music video that has been labelled 18+ by the rights-holder for that video, Spotify may serve a prompt for that user to confirm the user’s age.”
Spotify has said its platform is designed for users as young as 13, but it includes songs and music videos intended for mature listeners. The Times reported last month that the app had also hosted pornographic podcasts, despite a ban on “sexually explicit content” on the app.
Spotify is just the latest digital giant to introduce age checks in an attempt to block children from accessing adult content. It comes in the wake of new rules brought in under the Online Safety Act, Britain’s flagship tech law.
As of last Friday, technology businesses must confirm the age of users attempting to access pornography, as well as other media intended for adults, such as graphic violence. Tech giants are also required to enforce age limits set out in their terms of service.
The rules have prompted new age verification checks for porn websites, such as Pornhub. They have also resulted in social media sites including Reddit and X, formerly Twitter, adding age verification prompts for some posts and videos.
Sites that fail to properly enforce their terms of service and block children from harmful posts risk fines of up to 10pc of their turnover.
The arrival of online safety age checks last week has prompted a backlash against Britain’s digital rules. A petition calling for a repeal of the Online Safety Act, which was passed under the last Conservative government, reached 420,000 signatures.
In response, the Government said it had “no plans to repeal the Online Safety Act, and is working closely with Ofcom to implement the Act as quickly and effectively as possible to enable UK users to benefit from its protections”.
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