Spotify Is Forcing Users to Undergo Face Scanning to Access Explicit Content

Spotify is requiring users in the UK to verify they’re over 18, following the enactment of the Online Safety Act, which forced platforms to verify the ages of everyone who tries to access certain kinds of content deemed harmful to children.

“You may be presented with an age check when you try to access certain age restricted content, like music videos tagged 18+,” Spotify says on an informational page about the checks. If you fail the checks, or if the age verification system can’t accurately determine your age—which involves getting your face scanned through your device’s camera to determine your age, or uploading your license or passport if that doesn’t work—your Spotify account will be deleted.

“You cannot use Spotify if you don’t meet the minimum age requirements for the market you’re in. If you cannot confirm you’re old enough to use Spotify, your account will be deactivated and eventually deleted,” Spotify says.

Spotify is using a third-party system for age verification called Yoti. In 2023, when Utah started requiring age verification to access porn sites, porn site xHamster implemented Yoti, which involved a multi-step process including facial analysis or uploading a photo of a government-issued ID. 

The Online Safety Act went into effect last week. Much like the many laws in U.S. states that keep users from accessing porn unless they upload an ID or pass biometric face scanning, the law requires sites operating in the UK to implement age verification or face millions of dollars in fines and jail—or up to 10 percent of global revenues, whichever is higher. 

So far, it’s resulted in people having to verify their ages to visit subreddits that post news about war, certain Discord community, certain Bluesky content, and more. The UK’s Reform party is already vowing to repeal it, calling it “borderline dystopian.”    

Also last week, 404 Media broke the news that in the process of collecting selfies to attempt to check users’ gender, women’s dating safety app Tea exposed the personal information, including private messages and IDs, of thousands of users. Critics of age verification laws say they only create more censorship for adults, while children and everyone else get around the checks by using VPNs or visiting less safe, noncompliant sites.