U.K. kids skirt online age verification by drawing beards, using pictures of video game characters

Children in the United Kingdom are thwarting online age verification systems by drawing facial hair on themselves to appear older, multiple news outlets report.

A report from a U.K.-based nonprofit focused on online child safety found that nearly a third of kids admitted to bypassing age checks within just a two-month period.

A parent reported that their 12-year-old used an eyebrow pencil to draw a moustache and was verified as 15.

Some kids are using fake birth dates, someone else’s login, a parent’s or sibling’s device, or another person’s ID. Others are using videos or pictures of video game characters to fool facial recognition tools.

Children said they bypassed age checks in order to access social media platforms they were not old enough to use, or to join an online game or gaming community.

The report, titled “The Online Safety Act: Are Children Safer Online,” surveyed 1,270 children aged 9-16 and their parents across the United Kingdom.

• Juliet La Sala can be reached at jlasala@washingtontimes.com.