This page shows the source for this entry, with WebCore formatting language tags and attributes highlighted.

Title

Google's Age Verification Data-Collection Strategy

Description

I recently followed a link to a video on YouTube that was supposed to demonstrate the madness of Japanese wrestler Jun Kasai. I was unable to view the video because it was age-restricted and I had not yet verified my age for my Google account.<fn> Google helpfully offered a couple of ways of rectifying this issue. <img src="{att_link}googleageverification.png" href="{att_link}googleageverification.png" align="none" caption="Google's Age-verification Options"> That escalated quickly. I want to ask incredulously "do people really scan their driver's license and send it to completely unanswerable company like Google?" or "hey scan and send your <i>passport</i>, why not?" ... but I already know the answer. People want to see a Japanese wrestler destroy himself with fluorescent light-bulbs or they want to see boobies and they will not <i>hesitate</i> to give away the information anyone could use to spoof their identity. Or I suppose you could let Google have your credit card, instead. All of these options are good. <hr> <ft>For those dying of curiosity, the short video (1:12) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c12ED9aE-Rc" source="YouTube">CLIP: Masada vs. Jun Kasai - Ultraviolent Deathmatch from CZW LIVE at WrestleCon 4/5/13</a> provides a relatively good sample of what's going on in a "Deathmatch". There is barbed wire on one side of the ring and a wooden fence on the other. Jun Kasai is thrown into both sides until he looks like <i>Carrie</i> after the pig's blood had spilled on her. He has no teeth.</ft>