After Youtube rolled out the new "AI age verification system" on August 13th, 2025, a lot of people seem to be waking up to just how overtly censorious our modern social media and online platforms are, enough to actually threaten to leave these patriarchal, oppressive platforms. Do they mean it? Or are these empty threats? What even IS Youtube's new "AI age verification system," and does it completely fuck over any chance of fighting for gender-equal anti-censorship equality on the platform, even as pro-censorship as Youtube already was? Watch the video and let's discuss!
Youtube’s Nudity and Sexual Content Policy
https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2802002?hl=en#zippy=%2Cage-restricted-content%2Ceducational-content
IGN: YouTube's New AI Age Verification System Goes Into Effect Today in the United States
https://www.ign.com/articles/youtubes-new-ai-age-verification-system-goes-into-effect-today-in-the-united-states
Insider Gaming: UK Age Verification Being Bested by Death Stranding 2’s Sam Bridges
https://insider-gaming.com/death-stranding-2s-photo-mode-used-to-get-around-uk-age-verification-law/
E is Social: The Impending Death of Queer Indie Games, Censorship and the Morality Policing Lie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3CUGw_J65g&t=1s
Lextorias: The Secret War To Censor The Internet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmHHnPLllUk
Bellular News: Valve No Longer Controls Steam
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlEHovdeKZw
E is Social: How the NSFW Tumblr Ban Destroyed an Online Queer Community
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLZpdpSCJT8&t=1s
Man Carrying Thing: everyone on youtube after August 13th
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRlYhkyLlgc
CalebIsSalty: “YouTube Kids Content Is Absolutely Terrifying”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnK8VVUMuVs
MSN/Pink News: The UK Online Safety Act is here: What you need to know about the new age verification legislation
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/technology/the-uk-online-safety-act-is-here-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-new-age-verification-legislation/ar-AA1JedVc
Innodata: The Ethics of Content Moderation: Who Protects the Protectors?
https://innodata.com/the-ethics-of-content-moderation/
Lessons in Meme Culture: YouTube AI Age Verification Is Not Good
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NbwNAM3ygo
Taylor Lorenz: The Worst Update in YouTube History
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsD0e1k4d90
The Hated One: Age Verification - The End of Free And Open Internet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDdl4oiSolk
Micro: Why The Internet REALLY Wants Your ID… (and why now?)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAd-OOrdyMw
AugustTheDuck: YouTube's Worst Policy Change is Coming
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V37qnAWKYp8
Optimus: YouTube's New AI Age Check Feature Is Catastrophic…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5aIMdtE9lo
MeoKido Toons: YouTube’s AI Age Verification Is Hilariously Bad
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiTHKhIcW8c
Beyond the Internet: YouTube AI Age Verification: Everything You Need To Know
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu8OSjDZHPU
BBC: Facebook moderator: ‘Every day was a nightmare’
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-57088382
The New Yorker: The Underworld of Online Content Moderation
https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/the-underworld-of-online-content-moderation
Daily Dot: SESTA-FOSTA is ‘detrimental’ to sex workers’ safety, study confirms
https://www.dailydot.com/irl/sesta-fosta-report-sex-work/
OctaByte Blog: PeerTube: The Free and Decentralized Alternative to Video Platforms
https://blog.octabyte.io/posts/applications/peertube/peertube-the-free-and-decentralized-alternative-to-video-platforms/
The Conversation: What is Mastodon, the ‘Twitter alternative’ people are flocking to? Here’s everything you need to know
https://theconversation.com/what-is-mastodon-the-twitter-alternative-people-are-flocking-to-heres-everything-you-need-to-know-194059